Master and Student
by Green Kneesocks
Summary: Scenes from the lives of Mob and Reigen. Double gender swap time! Fem!Mob Fem!Reigen MobXTeru ReigenXSerizawa
1. Turning Heads

There were two kinds of problems in life. The first kind were the big problems such as making rent, remembering the password to the bank account needed to pay rent with, the general cost of living, and the existential dread of existence. Oh, and avoiding calls from concerned parents wondering where all their grandchildren were.

Then there were the problems in life which were not problems at all. Not big problems anyway. In fact these were such small problems that Reigen didn't even notice. That was what Mob was for.

"Man, I am on fire today." Said Reigen as the fifth guy in as many minutes stopped what he was doing and watched her walk past. Money in the bank, another job well done, the promise of ramen to come, and now this. Everything was coming up Reigen Arataki.

"It's not that hot out, Master, but I can carry your suit coat if you want." Said Mob. She didn't think it was very hot out but she was in her school uniform. Fewer layers. Master had to wear a suit which had a coat and a long sleeved shirt as well as an under dress called a slip, which showed sometimes but served an important function, Master said, as well as stockings. The entire outfit looked like it was way too much work, Mob thought, but Master said that this was how grown adults dressed to look presentable out in the world.

"Oh Mob, Mob, Mob. My sweet little Mob. One day you'll understand…" said Reigen. Mob was still so young, she didn't care about the attention of the opposite sex yet. Not that Reigen was complaining. Mob was young, way too young. She still played with dolls, or 'collected' them as she said.

"I don't understand." Said Mob simply. There were a lot of things that she didn't understand. Usually Master explained them. Like why you had to wear shoes that pinched your feet, because they made you look good, or why you could totally live on ramen if your budget could allow it, it had all the food groups in it. Master was really good at explaining things.

"It'll become clearer as you get older." Said Reigen basking in the attention of yet another head turning in her direction.

"That's what my mom says when I ask her questions that she doesn't want to answer." Said Mob

"Like what?" asked Reigen before she could stop herself. Right. This was Mob. The questions in question could range from 'why is the sky blue' to 'why do bad things happen to good people'. Unlike Mob's mother, not that Reigen would put herself into such a role, Reigen was a master bullshitter.

Come on Mob, bring it on.

"Why do people have to be married to have kids?" asked Mob

"Have to?" asked Reigen

"Yes. Have to." Said Mob

"They don't, it's not a requirement. That's some dystopian future stuff right there…." said Reigen

"Oh. Mom said that they did. Mom said that she and dad got married because she was going to have me and that only married people were allowed to have kids." Said Mob

"Oh. Well that's something I didn't know about your parents…" said Reigen

"Yes, because I just told you just now. I didn't know either, that they got married because of me. I never really thought about why they got married, they've just always been my parents and have always been married. I just wanted to know why people got married, that's all. Then mom said that people got married to have babies and that only married people were allowed to have babies. Then I asked mom how single parents worked and she said that I could know about those things when I was older. She says sometimes when she doesn't want to answer the question, it's true. Ritsu told me so and he never tells lies." Said Mob

"Single people have kids by themselves all the time, Mob, but it's just harder. Raising kids is easier when there's more than one person around." Said Reigen

"Oh. Ok. Is that why you don't have any kids?" asked Mob

"What are you, my mother?" asked Reigen. Mob shook her head.

"I know that's a rhetorical question, Master, Ritsu taught me about those." Said Mob

"You're right, it is a rhetorical question. Mob, I don't have kids because I haven't met the right…guy…yet…" said Reigen. Another guy's head turned. Her eyes met his, he looked away. Tall and broad…cute too….but Mob was right there. Damn.

"Master, what's wrong?" asked Mob. Master Reigen was walking slower now, and looking off to the side. She usually went straight to the ramen place when they had a big job. Not that their last job was that big, it was a pretty weak spirit, but Master left the small fries for her.

"Nothing, nothing at all…feeling pretty good actually." Said Reigen brushing her hair out of her face.

"Because we're getting ramen?" asked Mob

"Of course. You can't get through a big job like that without getting something good to eat afterwards. Always rewards yourself Mob, treat yourself every now and again. It's good for the soul." Said Reigen

"Ok. That job wasn't that big, though. I've met stronger spirits." said Mob. Reigen patted her on the back.

"Well, Mob, you've got to get that practice in a safe environment. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Said Reigen. Yup, master bullshitter. Mob really was better off with her than anywhere else. She was so trusting, thank God some weirdo didn't get to her first.

"That makes sense, Master, but I'm sorry that you didn't get to do anything." Said Mob

"I trust you to work on your own, student! You're old enough." Said Reigen

"Thank you, Master." Said Mob smiling. She wasn't little anymore, even if Master Reigen did keep getting her dolls for her birthday and Christmas and Girl's Day. Well you were supposed to get dolls on Girl's day. Mob didn't dislike dolls, she collected them, but she was fourteen and much too old to actually play with them.

"Remember, I'll always leave the small fries to you." Said Reigen

"What about the big fries?" asked Mob

"Huh? Sure, if you want. When you're older." Said Reigen patting her on the head. Mob straightened her braids out.

"When I'm as old as you?" asked Mob

"Who are you calling old?" asked Reigen. What was it? The new top? The skirt? No, she wore this skirt almost every day. The shoes? This pair hurt like a bitch but they made her calves pop.

"I'm not calling you old, Master, I'm just saying that I want to work for you when I'm as old as you." Said Mob

"When you're twenty eight?" asked Reigen. Twenty eight year old Mob….she couldn't picture it. When she pictured Mob she still saw that eleven year old in pigtails and the pink dress with the kittens on it and the Sailor Moon doll clutched in her hand.

"Yes. When we're the same age. I mean when I'm the age that you are now. We'll never be the same age, Master, because that's not how time works." Said Mob

"You're right about that, Mob." Said Reigen slightly distractedly. Maybe after she and Mob finished up she could get dressed up and head on over to Happy Trails…or just head on over. There was something about this outfit, or maybe she was just super confident….

"So can I?" asked Mob. Master Reigen got that far off look again. Maybe because people were looking at her. Mob wondered why. It was rude to stare, she had been told so at least a thousand times.

"If you still feel like working for me in fourteen years." Said Reigen

"Of course I will, Master." Said Mob. Why wouldn't she? She loved working with Master Reigen. It was like working with her best friend, if she had a best friend. Ritsu didn't count because he was her little brother. Little brothers did not count.

"Well then I'm looking forward to it." Said Reigen

"Really?" asked Mob

"Of course. We'll make a splash and take on the town, you and me." Said Reigen. Adult friends with Mob. Adult Mob. Heh. That would be nice. Mob was a great kid, kind of like the little sister she never had. Not that she still wanted a baby sister or anything. At this point it would just be weird, having a sibling thirty years younger than her. Heh. Well that was what she had Mob for.

"Master?" asked Mob. People usually stared for a reason. People stared at her because she was weird looking. Back in elementary school that was the reason people gave for why they stared at her so much. Mob didn't mind people staring but maybe Master Reigen would.

"What's up?" asked Reigen

"People keep looking at you." Said Mob simply. Maybe Master Reigen would want to know why people were looking at her. Mob would want to know, if she were in Master Reigen's position.

"I know, Mob, I noticed. You'll understand when you're my age." Said Reigen as they got to the ramen place. She shook out her hair a bit to give it some more body.

"Oh, ok. When I'm your age will I have to have lipstick on my front two teeth too?" asked Mob. Reigen stopped in the doorway of the ramen place. She used the window as a mirror and just stared in horror for a second before wiping her teeth off with more force than was strictly necessary.

"Mob…why didn't you say anything sooner?" asked Reigen checking her teeth to make sure that she didn't still look like she just came from a particularly sadistic dentist.

"I don't know, I just didn't notice." Said Mob. Reigen sighed.

"…Let's just get some dinner." Said Reigen. Well at least only a dozen or so people had stopped to gawk. That was something. Yeah, she was fine. She couldn't sweat the little problems in life. Yeah! She couldn't let anything break her stride!

Not even public humiliation.

Thank God she had Mob to notice the small things.


	2. Fears

Reigen knew that bugs were put on this Earth specifically to torment her. She was sure of it.

There was nothing wrong with disliking insects. They spread disease! And they were gross looking, too. All of those legs…and the eyes…oh so many eyes. Spider, cockroaches, beetles, silverfish, stick bugs, praying mantises…just terrible creatures. Terrible.

That was why there was nothing wrong with what she was doing.

There was a spider in the building a web in the corner of the office. She knew that the adult thing to do would have been to take off her shoe, walk over to the corner of the office, and squish the damn thing. But she couldn't. Because that would involve coming near it and she was not prepared to do that.

So sat, or rather perched, on her chair behind her desk and watched the spider like it was going to rush over and eat her like she was a particularly juicy looking fly. Maybe she should get some Venus fly traps, did they eat spiders or just flies? But then again carnivorous plants were expensive and difficult to tend to. They needed a lot of direct sunlight, which she did not have. Well she had a window sill at the office but it wasn't sun facing. The same went for her windows at home. They mostly just provided her with a lovely view of the brick walls of the building next to hers and the parking lot which was always bathed in shadow. So, yeah, no carnivorous plants.

Look at her. Twenty nine years old and shaking in fear over a simple spider. If her mother could see her now. Mom had always thought that her fear of bugs was ridiculous. Mom always thought that everything about her was ridiculous. That was mom after all. She never approved of much of anything. She went around specifically looking for things to disapprove of. Like Reigen's hair or her clothes or her make up, or her choice of profession, or pretty much everything. Well she was not ridiculous…even if she was shaking in fear of an itsy, bitsy, spider…

She was not a child anymore and she was not afraid of a spider! She was going to get down off of this chair, take off her shoe, and smash that spider into smithereens! Salt optional.

_Salt Squish: A special move in which Reigen fills her shoes with salt and exorcises spiders, cockroaches, and other household vermin!_

She looked down. She'd skip the salt, these shoes were expensive. One could not skimp out on what came between them and the ground after all. In fact, it would have been a total waste of money to use these shoes to squish a spider. She looked around. Nothing that she could use. It would be a shame to waste perfectly good paper, or ruin any books…because of the environment. Yes. One had to be considerate of the environment. Gotta take care of the Earth, you only get one of after all!

Plus the spider could be endangered! Yes! Wait…were there endangered spiders in Japan?

Well there would be if people just went around killing them willy nilly.

So therefore she was not cowering fear of a spider but was instead thinking of Mother Earth. She was not sitting perched up like a bird because she was afraid but because…it was good for her core strength? Yes. That was it. She was perched on her chair like a bird because it was good for her core muscles and her leg muscles and all of her other muscles which she didn't feel like saying the technical names of just then in that moment in time.

She'd wait for Mob. Mob could get rid of it. That was her job, wasn't it? That was what Reigen paid her for. She got rid of spirits and such, that was why the sign said Spirits and Such. Yeah, Mob could handle this like she handled everything. That was…a good sue of her powers. That was Reigen's job after all, to teacher her to control her powers. Yeah, she'd leave this to Mob. She always left the small fries to Mob!

The first thing Mob saw when she came into work was Master Reigen sitting on top of her chair. Not on her chair but on top of it, with her feet on it and everything. That was weird. Weird and dangerous.

"Mob! Hey!" said Reigen waving her student over. He wonderful, kind, devoted student! The best student in the whole, wide world!

"Master, why are you sitting like that?" asked Mob as she put her bag down next to her desk.

"Don't sit down! Mob, I've got a job for you, an important one." said Reigen slowly getting back to sitting normally. She overbalanced herself and began to tip over. Mob caught her with a wave of her hand.

"Master, you should be more careful. Also did you know that there was a rip in your stocking?" asked Mob. Mom said that when someone had something wrong with their appearance, that they could easily correct not something that they were born with, it was alright to tell them.

"What? Damn it….cheap hundred yen a pack…clearance bin….factory defective….found at the laundromat…." Muttered Reigen. Right down the side, too. Great. Well now the world knew that Reigen was too lazy, busy, to shave. It really did take up a lot of time and money that could be better used doing the important things in life.

"I have some socks that you can borrow, if your legs are cold." Said Mob. She always carried a spare pair of socks. You never knew when your feet would get wet or extra cold or the elastic could break on the sock that you were wearing. Mom said that it was important to always wear high socks so that way people couldn't see how hairy your legs were. Kids got socks and adults got to shave, mom had said. Not that Mob wanted to, she liked not having to rub sharp blades against her legs…

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine." Said Reigen settling into a more normal sitting position. She folded her hands in front of her and tried to look calm…even though that spider across the room was eying her with it's eight beady, nefarious eyes as it plotted its dark purpose…

"Oh. Ok. What's the mission you had for me, Master? Where are we going today?" asked Mob. She hopped that wherever today's job was it was near a MobDonald's. She could really use some fries, and a milkshake too.

"Mob your mission, if you so choose to take it, requires the upmost skill and bravery. If you choose to accept, my student, then you must take the greatest of care." Said Reigen trying her best to sound dramatic. Mob nodded, her eyes totally on Reigen. She could have been a monk, Mob, if they were in an old movie.

"Whatever it is I'll do it, Master." Said Mob. No matter how powerful the spirit she would exorcise it. That was her job and she would make Master Reigen proud no matter what it took.

"Thanks Mob. Hey, squish that spider for me, would you?" asked Reigen pointing to the spider just chilling over in the corner.

"Master Reigen, I can't do that. Spiders are good, they eat bugs. If we have spiders then we won't get anything worse, like beetles or ants or cockroaches." Said Mob. She didn't know why Master Reigen was so afraid of bugs. They were tiny. They were more afraid of people than people were of them.

"Mob, please. Come on, for me? Do it for your Master." Said Reigen. Mob shook her head. She reached over with her powers and picked the spider up, web and all. Reigen forgot how to breathe for a minute. It was coming closer and closer and closer and closer and-

"Master, I'm going to put this outside. It's not doing anything to hurt us and I can't just kill it for existing. That would be bad." Said Mob. She did not get to decide if another living creature had the right to exist just because she had the power to get rid of it. She did not get to decide those things just because she was stronger.

"Yeah…I guess you have a point." Said Reigen not bringing up the fact that Mob ate meat and eating meat was worse than squishing a bug. She gasped and pushed back so hard that she hit the wall behind her. Well there goes the security deposit….

"Thank you. I'll be back, Master, I just have to find a good place for the spider. Maybe in the alley, there are a lot of bugs out there." Said Mob. She didn't see what was so scary about this. It was small and gross looking and the bites itched but it was also small and didn't want to hurt anyone. There was a difference between hurting someone because you want to and hurting someone on purpose.

There had to be a difference.

Reigen watched Mob round the corner with the spider floating beside her. Mob was braver than her. Well of course she was. She had been able to see spirits since the day she was born, she had told Reigen one day. She had psychic powers that she could barely control. She did things and saw things that Reigen could only dream of. Reigen couldn't even begin to image what it must have been like to have that much power…and to have it slip from her control….

Mob had actual things in her life to be scared of.


	3. Confidence

Maybe there was something to be said about this current generation and their dependence on their mobile phones. Mob and Reigen had both been subject to enough lectures by their respective mothers on subject of proper mobile phone usage, or, why this next generation was going to the dogs.

Not that Mob or Reigen were much inclined to agree with that assessment.

Reigen's nose was buried in her phone for legitimate work reasons. Yes, legitimate work reasons named Taro, a client who had come through a day or so ago. Reigen didn't usually date clients, or so she told herself, but when he walked out that door he ceased to be a client and instead became yet another tall, dark, and handsome stranger on the streets. Well, not entirely a stranger. He liked ramen, she liked ramen, so the logical thing to do was to get ramen and Reigen did not get ramen with complete and total strangers.

Hence the excessive amount of texting.

Besides, it was just about closing time anyway and Mob was off in her own little phone world too.

Mob's nose was buried in her phone for reasons that had absolutely nothing at all to do with work. Her reason was named Teruki, or Teru as he liked to be called. Not Hanazawa, he said that after defeating Claw plus the whole beating him up, shaving his head, ripping off his clothes, and destroying his school thing they were much too familiar for family names.

Not that Mob had intended to do those things. Well she had wanted to save Ritsu from Claw and all of that but she never intended to do the part that happened before. Losing control of her powers was bad enough but she had hurt another person with them. Not only had she beat him up and tossed him into the stratosphere but she had also shaved his head and ripped off all his clothes.

In self-defense.

That was the important part.

He said that after all of that they were very familiar. Then they exchanged phone numbers, in case anything ever happened he had said, and then he started texting her. A lot. She liked it. That was why she was texting him right now instead of doing actual work. It was ok, though, because Master Reigen would tell her if there was anything that needed doing. They were being chill, she had said, because of the whole Claw thing.

Something which Mob had no problem with whatsoever.

Besides, Master Reigen was on her phone, too, so it was ok. She was smiling a lot, even laughing a little. Mob knew that she had been looking for too long because Master Reigen met her eyes. She looked back down at her phone. She shouldn't snoop like that. She was just curious about what Master Reigen was so happy about.

Her phone vibrated. Mob smiled, Teru again. Well who else could it be? Well except for Tome, she texted sometimes. Mezato too, but not as often. Rei more frequently, she was nice. Ok, it could have been people other than Teru but she was very happy that it was Teru. Not to discount her other friends or anything.

"What's got you so happy over there?" asked Reigen. Mob was smiling, something rare-ish for her. Not that she ever gave a big ear to ear grin or anything, just her usual little smile.

"I got a message." Said Mob. She could feel herself smiling. Teru wanted to see her after work. She said maybe. Sometimes, a lot of times, she got first dinner with Master Reigen after work. First dinner was the dinner she had with Master Reigen, second dinner was the dinner she had with her family.

"Good news?" asked Reigen. She knew that look, well the Mob version of it anyways. The little smile, the slight blush, the way she was holding onto her phone for dear life. So cute, but so soon. Mob was only…yeah fourteen was, if anything, a little late for all of this to start.

Her little Mob was growing up.

Maybe she'd swing by the hundred yen store and pick her up a new doll. Just because.

"Not really news, just…" said Mob. She crossed her ankles. Her hair started to float up. She wanted to say something but she also didn't. She maybe may have…liked…Teru a little bit. But that was dumb. She had liked boys before but they never liked her back. She was too weird.

"Mob, you are too adorable right now." Said Reigen. Poor Mob, to be young and to taste love's bitter embrace. Her own phone vibrated. To be old and to taste love's lukewarm embrace. Well, not love…and not old! What was she thinking? She wasn't even thirty yet.

"Thank you, Master." Said mob. Now Master Reigen was smiling down at her phone again.

"Do you have good news?" asked Mob

"Me? No, just…a guy. That's all." Said Reigen. Mob blinked. A guy? A boy? Master was testing a boy, too? She had known Master Reigen since she was eleven and she never had a boyfriend in all that time. Master Reigen said that she just hadn't met the right person yet, when Mob asked. Ritsu said it was because she was sloppy and obnoxious and a con. None of those things were true so Mob was going to go with what Master Reigen had said.

"Is he your boyfriend?" asked Mob. Reigen just about tipped over in her chair.

"I wouldn't go that far, Mob, I haven't even been out with the guy yet." Said Reigen

"Do you like him?" asked Mob

"I like him enough." Said Reigen

"What does that mean?" asked Mob

"I like him enough to have dinner with him. By the way, I'm having dinner with someone tonight so have your parents feed me." Said Mob

"They will. I have dinner with them almost every night." Said Mob

"But we get dinner almost every night." Said Reigen

"I know, that's first dinner." Said Mob

"First dinner?" asked Reigen

"Yes. I have first dinner with you and then second dinner with my family." Said Mob.

"Mob that's….well you are a growing girl." Said Reigen. She was about to tell Mob something to the effect of 'that's how you get fat' but Mob did not need those kinds of issues cluttering up her head. She had enough to worry about without Reigen getting her worried about the things that plagued her mind when she herself was fourteen.

"I know. I grew three centimeters this year." Said Mob

"Three? That's pretty good. Maybe by next year you'll be as tall as a regular middle schooler. I'm kidding, by the way." said Reigen

"I know. You would never actually be mean to me, Master." Said Mob

"You're right, I never would." Said Reigen. Mob's phone and hers vibrated at once. They both looked down at once, picked up their phones at once, and began typing at once. It would have been really cool if someone had been recording it.

Mob told Teru that they could definitely hang out after work. As friends, but she didn't say that part. Maybe she was…hopeful…but of course Teru wouldn't like her back. She was Mob. She wasn't pretty or cool or anything. She looked over at Master Reigen, if someone even as cool as Master Reigen took this long to find someone then what hope was there for Mob?

"What's eating you, Mob?" asked Reigen. She knew when something was bothering Mob. The energy around her changed, and Reigen could actually see that energy, now, if she focused. A side effect of the whole 'Mob sharing her powers' thing.

"Nothing just…." Said Mob

"Just…?" asked Reigen

"How do you know…I mean, that you like someone and that they like you back? I mean, that they even could like you back?" asked Mob digging her shoe onto the floor. Reigen sighed and leaned back, putting her feet up on the table. Time for some of her patented 'Reigen Arataki' life advice.

"Does this somebody have a name?" asked Reigen. Her phone vibrated again and for a moment she wanted to reach for it but Mob needed her. She was at that age, and it was an awful age, so she needed someone to guide her and that someone was Reigen.

"…Teru…" said Mob quietly. Reigen stifled a laugh, badly. She almost tipped over, again, but caught herself…and sight of Mob. Reigen didn't need to be able to see auras to know what that face meant.

"You don't have to make fun of me…" said Mob

"Mob, you know I'd never be mean to you. I was just remembering him, more specifically the haystack." Said Reigen

"Oh. His hair got cut in the battle. It's shorter now." Said Mob. His hair did look funny, before, but that was only because she had shaved his actual hair off. In self defense.

"Hopefully he can fit through a standard sized doorway now." Said Reigen shaking her head.

"I'll ask him when I see him." said Mob

"You're seeing him?" asked Reigen. Mob blushed and nodded.

"Yes. After work. He wants to hang out." Said Mob

"And you want to know if he means hang out as friends or hang on as in he's asking you out on a date." Said Reigen. Mob blinked.

"How did you know?" asked Mob

"I've been around the block a few times, Mob, believe me I have. I remember being your age and let me tell you, guys haven't changed one bit. I bet you he's wondering the same thing right now. 'Does she want to go out with me as a friend or does she want to go OUT with me?' or something like that." Said Reigen. Mob nodded. Master Reigen knew everything. Maybe she would even know…not that Mob was too hopeful. But maybe Teru was asking himself the same thing…maybe he wanted her to…

But that was crazy.

"So the question here is 'Mob, what do you want?'" asked Reigen

"I want…I don't know. I mean…I want him to like me but…boys don't like me. I'm weird. I can't get a clue and I'm not popular or pretty or anything." Said Mob. Reigen swung her legs over the table and walked over to Mob. She felt something that reminded her far too much of her stocking ripping. Great.

"Master, you ripped you stocking." Said Mob

"I know, now get up." Said Reigen. Mob paused for a minute before standing up.

"Good. Now follow me." Said Reigen. She led Mob to the bathroom. Mob hesitated before following her in. Reigen clicked on the light and then stood Mob in front of the mirror.

"You're pretty, Mob. Don't ever say that you aren't. When I was your age I always thought that I was weird and awkward and ugly and I drove myself crazy. I won't see you drive yourself crazy too, ok? See, you're pretty and, ok, sometimes you can't get a clue but you're getting much better." Said Reigen. Mob nodded.

"Do you really think so? Nobody else does. They, well they used to, make fun of me. I just…I don't want to get my hopes up…in case he doesn't like me…" said Mob

"If he doesn't like you then he doesn't like you. That's what this whole thing is about. You hang out with the guy, see if you like each other, and work from there." Said Reigen

"Is that what you're going to do?" asked Mob

"Yeah, more or less. I don't even know this guy that well but it's been a while…since I've been on a date I mean!" said Reigen. Right, Mob was way too young to even think about things like that.

"Aren't you scared that he won't like you?" asked Mob

"Me? No, not really. I might not like him, he might not like me, that's just the way it goes." Said Reigen

"….you really think he might like me?" asked Mob

"I don't see why he wouldn't. Look at you, you're adorable. Pretty. Pretty damn adorable." Said Reigen. She brushed Mob's bangs out of her eyes and tossed her braids behind her.

"…thanks…" said Mob. She didn't want to be pretty adorable, she just wanted to be pretty. Adorable was what adults always called her. Boys didn't care about adorable. Adorable was for when you were little. She was not little anymore.

"No go get 'em Mob. Tell me how it goes." Said Reigen. She led Mob over to the office door. Poor kid. She somehow still lacked confidence, even after everything that happened. Reigen knew what it was like to be Mob, Mob had lent Reigen her powers after all. Even with all of that the kid had no confidence. She was more than her powers, Reigen had taught her that, powers were just another talent after all, but it was still odd that Mob had almost zero confidence in herself.

Well that was what Reigen was for. She was there to help Mob with whatever she needed, especially in this godawful period in life. Confidence was key, that was what Mob needed. Confidence, something that Reigen had in excess. Not enough confidence to walk around in ripped stockings though.

She'd pick some up at the hundred yen store. Stockings and a doll for Mob.

Maybe Reigen wasn't totally ready for Mob to trade in her dolls for phones and boys just yet.


	4. The Cards

"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell! Your past, your present, and your future as well." Said Master Reigen. She was all dressed up, now, in her outfit that made her look like a TV psychic. Puffy white shirt, long skirt with dangling, sparking things, and a scarf tied around her hair. She hit on the idea, she said, because people had an idea in their minds of what a psychic was supposed to look like and sometimes you had to give the people what they wanted.

Also she had been watching Supernatural Detective.

Master Reigen had spiritual powers, not psychic powers, which meant that she could do things that Mob couldn't. Read the cards, do séances, spirit photos, charms, things like that.

Right now she was reading someone's cards. The lights were dimmed, the curtains were drawn, and a bunch of candles were lit. The smell of scented candles and incense was getting up Mob's nose and making her eyes water but it didn't seem to both Master Reigen.

"Please, take three, and then your future we will see." Said Master Reigen. Mob watched in rapt attention. This was always so cool. How could cards tell the future? Master Reigen said that it was part art and part science. Mob got alright grades in either subject. The cards looked complicated, sometimes, like when Master Reigen did the spread of ten. This was a spread of three. Past, present, and future.

Though Mob still had trouble with what each card meant.

"Ah yes! Let us see! Fates, reveal the future for me!" said Master Reigen. Lots of arm waving there, lots of loud talking. Lots of Master. Her scarf fell down over her eyes but Mob quickly fixed it with her powers. She tied it back around Master's hair for her, she hadn't tied it tight enough.

"Ah yes, the Emperor, the Empress, and the Fool. No, no, don't despair. The Fool here is not foolish but wise, a little nonsense now and then does not affront the wisest men after all. The Fool, here, is a wise and eternal soul which symbolizes innocence, trust, and a new cycle. But we're working backwards." Said Master Reigen. That was the confusing part, to Mob. Even the bad cards meant good things. It should have been straightforward, like how the Death card should have meant that you were going to die, but it wasn't. Like so much in life it was ambiguous and confusing.

But Master Reigen always knew what they meant.

"Here we have the Emperor. Tell me, is there something happening in your life involving a male authority figure? I father, boss, etcetera….this card can also represent authority, passion, leadership, and sex….yes….really? Of course it can mean wanting to start an affair with your boss, your desire guides your life after all…." Said Master Reigen. Mob looked away when Master Reigen said sex. Not a bad word but not something she wanted to think about in conjunction to Master Reigen. Not that she thought about it that often…not that she went around asking people about it. But it was weird to think that Master Reigen even knew that word, even though she was an adult and stuff. That and, well, that was not the thing to discuss or even mention, mom had been very clear about that.

"Secondly we have the Empress, it is very rare to get these two cards together. This card can refer to any relationships with other women but most often refers to the moth-oh. Yes. This can refer to your boss's…wife…" said Master Reigen. She tugged at the collar of her puffy psychic shirt. A shirt for psychics, not a shirt which was psychic. Mob wondered if she'd have to wear a costume, too, when she got up. Or maybe it was different for espers. She had only met two other girl espers, one had been the little doll girl from the Claw base and the other had been the lady from the Claw base who liked to hit stuff. Mob hoped that she'd end up like Master Reigen, not them. She only used her powers for good.

"This brings us to the final card, the Fool. Now in the past you say that you've…slept with your boss…and the present card, the Empress, could refer to your boss's wife in the present possibly knowing about the affair. This ties into our next card which can be the beginning of a new cycle…so perhaps it's time to begin the cycle of finding a new job…" said Master Reigen. The client got up with a huff and tossed the money on the table before stomping out so quickly that Mob didn't even get the chance to write up a receipt.

"Mob, get the windows, would you?" asked Master Reigen as she pulled the scarf off her head. Mob nodded and opened the windows with her powers.

"I swear to God I am going to suffocate one of these days." Said Master Reigen as she picked up the  
money and began to count it.

"At least she paid. I honestly thought that she was going to take a swing at me. Mob let me give you a very good piece of advice. Never, ever, ever get involved with a married man, especially if he's your boss." Said Master Reigen as she put the money away. Mob nodded but then stopped mid nod.

"But then how does that work? I thought that married meant that you agreed to be with that person forever. Why would you cheat on someone you wanted to spend forever with?" asked Mob. Master Reigen shook her head.

"A lot of reasons, Mob, and none of them good. Sometimes people feel unfulfilled or unloved or just…have something to prove. But don't ever cheat…or be an accessory to cheating. Trust me on this, he'll tell you that you're special and he'll make you feel special but you won't be. If you were so special then he wouldn't….but that's adult stuff. Nothing you need to worry about. Anyway it's not like you even have a boyfriend…or do you?" asked Master Reigen. Her eyes met Mob's and Mob suddenly felt like looking away.

"….I don't…" said Mob. She didn't, not really. She and Teru just hung out, that was all. They saw a movie and then went to get coffee, well Mob got hot milk and vanilla, and then they walked around the shopping center for a while. That was just hanging out. Even if she did spend the entire time wondering what it would be like to hold his hand.

"Damn. So it didn't go well with Haystack the other day?" asked Master Reigen

"No, it went well. We saw a movie and went to get coffee, he got coffee and I got hot milk with vanilla, and then we just walked around for a while. He didn't do any date things like hold my hand or confess to me or anything like that. So I guess that he just meant for us to hang out as friends." Said Mob

"Uh-huh. Sure, that's all the kid had on his mind. Right." Said Master Reigen

"Right." Said Mob. Well if Master Reigen thought so too then Mob must have been right. Well of course Teru didn't want to go on an actual date with her, she was Mob. Master Reigen thought that she was pretty…but Master Reigen also thought that dogs were a superior pet to cats and that everything needed extra salt.

"Mob, I wasn't being serious. Come on, middle school boys don't take girls out to the movies and for coffee if they're not interested. Hell, middle school boys shouldn't even be getting coffee in the first place. Seriously, what kind of a kid gets coffee of all things?" said Master Reigen

"Teru does. He likes coffee. I just think it tastes burnt and bitter but he doesn't mind. He said that next time he'll take me to a place that I like." Said Mob

"Ah, so there's going to be a next time." Said Master Reigen

"Yes. He said so. He didn't say when, though, or what we were going to do but he said so." Said Mob

"Here, come sit down. Let's see what the cards have to say about all of this." said Master Reigen patting the folding card table she used for these sorts of things. Mob got up and sat down. The chair was still warm from the client. She sat down and crossed her ankles. Master Reigen reshuffled all of her cards. Mob watched her hands as she worked. Mob would have had to use her powers to move the cards around like that.

"The cards, the cards, just take three. Let's what there is to be." Said Master Reigen. Mob smiled and took three cards. She laid them down on the table the way she had seen it done a thousand times before.

The Chariot. The Lovers. The Hanged Man.

"The Lovers, I knew that it was going to be the lovers…" said Master Reigen. Mob blushed and tucked her face down low into her school shirt.

"Oh don't be like that, I'm only teasing. This is good, actually, because it's in the present. The past, let's see-" said Master Reigen

"The chariot is birth, right? Does that mean that I was born? Because I didn't need cards to tell me that." Said Mob

"While it is true that chariot is representative of the vehicle of our creation it can also mean the vehicle of control." Said Master Reigen doing her psychic voice. The one she used when she needed to sound like what people expected her to be.

"So like how I'm learning to control my powers?" asked Mob

"Yes, exactly. You're a fast learner, student. Well the Lovers card is pretty much self-explanatory. Romantic success in your future. Maye not with necessarily with the kid you're into but with someone." Said Master Reigen. Mob couldn't meet her master's eyes. Boys besides Teru? Thinking about Teru was…enough…not that there weren't other boys who were nice and stuff…but Teru was Teru.

"I know what that card means, Master…." Said Mob softly. Master Reigen rolled her eyes.

"To be young again…" said Master Reigen

"You're not old, Master, you're only twenty eight. That's not old. My mom says that forty is old." Said Mob

"You're too kind, Mob. It's a shame you drew the Hangman. Oh Mob, I hardly knew ye-" said Master Reigen as she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. Some of the black around her eyes smudged.

"Master, I remember that card. It doesn't mean that I'm going to be hanged or anything like that. It's like the Death card, it doesn't mean what it seems like it means." Said Mob

"Ok then Miss Smarty Skirt, you tell me what it means, then." Said Master Reigen

"It means that I have to let go. I don't know what I have to let go of but I'll figure it out. If that's what the cards say." Said Mob

"The cards…the cards have told. Ok Mob, the way I see it is that you've worked hard to control your powers, you've found love, but you've got a lot to let go of." Said Master Reigen

"What do I have to let go of?" asked Mob. Master Reigen reached into her shirt and pulled out her cigarette case and her lighter. She was doing that so she had time to think, she had taught that trick to Mob. Then she told Mob never to start smoking. Her cards must have been really hard to read, Master Reigen usually always knew just what they meant.

"Fear, maybe. Fear of yourself. I think that your fear of yourself might have something to do with your lack of confidence. Believe in yourself, Mob, and all of that." Said Master Reigen.

"But I should be afraid of myself. I mean…you know what I can do…" said Mob. Master Reigen had been there at the Claw base when she exploded. Master Reigen had even borrowed Mob's powers, for a time. She knew why Mob had to be afraid and, yes, maybe that fear did live in the back of her mind all the time. Maybe she did know that if she couldn't even control her powers she couldn't do any of the things that she wanted to do or be who she wanted to be. There were better people out there, people who weren't dangerous to be around or weird like she was.

"Yeah, I do, and it's pretty amazing. You're an amazing kid and you shouldn't forget that. Just let go, Mob, and success will follow. The cards have spoken." Said Reigen. She reshuffled her cards quickly. Well, she tried to, but Mob beat her to it. In a second she had the whole deck shuffled and put back in their box.

Yes, alright, Mob was crazy powerful. She could both lift people up and toss them around with her powers as well as shuffle a deck of cards without so much as bending them.

But she was still a great kid and she needed to know that. She needed to know, to think, that she had nothing to worry about. Even though she could lose control at any time she had nothing to worry about. Reigen had been the first one to tell Mob that she had nothing to worry about, that she was human the same as everyone else.

She was.

Mob was just a kid.

That was the trust, she was just a kid.

And for once the cards were right, and Reigen was telling the truth.

For once.


	5. Art Books

Increased business demands had led Reigen to increase the number of Spirits and Such staff.

Before there was a staff of two, her and Mob. Now they had a staff of three. Her, Mob, and Mob's apparent best friend, Tome. She was their new secretary. Her job consisted of picking up phones, filing, and writing receipts. She did those jobs just about as well as Reigen could have expected from someone who was being paid in experience and the occasional ramen dinner.

Case and point, the giggles and whispers being carried through the office and to the back store room where Reigen was looking for her spare yoga pants. Usually her stockings ripped so really this was a welcome change of pace. She knew she had a spare pair around her someplace. Well a spare of a spare. Her original spare pair of yoga pants suffered an unfortunate accident and had to be declared dead and given a proper burial in the rag bucket. She would have had an easier time looking if one of those two would help her.

But she was loathe to pull Mob away from her friend.

That was why they had fought, she took up too much of Mob's time. Mob was getting older and making friends and that was alright. She knew that she wouldn't be Master Reigen forever but maybe she could be…Arataki. Maybe later, not now. Now she was Master Reigen and she needed to find her spare yoga pants because a client was coming and she could not do yoga in her work skirt. It was not that kind of business.

The business was called Spirits and Such but not that kind of Such.

Not that the clients would mind. She wasn't blind, she knew why some of these guys kept coming week after week. There were only so many times she could do the 'coral steam yoga' exorcism with a guy before she stopped kidding herself. Not that she minded, she met some pretty fun guys that way.

But she wouldn't if she couldn't find that damned spare pair of yoga pants!

"Shush, do you want her to hear?" asked Tome. Mob shook her head 'no'. Master Reigen was in the back room looking for something and she got kind of grumpy whenever she had to do that. Mob knew that she should have been back there helping but she also knew that she had to be polite to Tome, especially since Tome was nice enough to show her some of the best manga ever written.

Tome's words.

Unless the manga had to do with falling in love, cats, club adventures, or EVA then Mob usually passed on it.

This, however, was something of great interest to Mob.

"No. I don't think that Master Reigen would want us to read this sort of book here." Said Mob. She knew that people looked this kind of stuff up on the internet but she never got the appeal. If you didn't know the people or how they had fallen in love then what was the point of watching them do…stuff.

Manga was different.

And it wasn't bad, Tome had said, it was art. It was artistic expression and it could not be censored.

But they still shouldn't go waving books like this around where Master Reigen could see. Mob knew that she would not want them reading something like this at work. Not that it was that bad, not really. It was more…romantic…than anything.

"He knelt before the soft thicket sprouting from his omega's abdomen. He parted the soft grass and the sweet smell of desire filled his lungs-" read Mob softly with a blush and a laugh.

"Ok, so that means that he-" said Tome

"I know what it means, Tome, I'm fourteen." Said Mob. When Tome pulled this book out of her school bag she said that she was going to 'rock Mob's world off it's axis' and 'shock her like she had never been shocked before' but so far Mob had just laughed a lot. Not her 'ha-ha' laugh but more of an expression of nervousness and, well, she should not have been reading this. Not to herself and certainly not aloud at work either.

"Who told you of these things?!" shouted Tome. Mob shushed her and looked off to the side, fearful that Master Reigen would come bounding around the corner and see what it was that had them so amused. She would not be amused, not at all. Work was serious. This was a place of business not a library, Master Reigen said sometimes when Mob got too into her manga and forgot to, well, work. This was worse, of course, much worse.

"I hear people talking, they always forget that I'm there. I know what people do together, Tome. I'm only a year younger than you. I'm never going to do anything like this but I know about it." Said Mob. She held her breath as she heard the creak of the storeroom door as it opened further.

"What are you two doing in there?" asked Reigen. She caught some snippets of what they were saying. Those two had better not be doing what she thought that they were doing. First of all this was a place of business, not a gentlemen's library, and second of all Mob and Tome were too young to be reading about whatever the hell they were reading about.

Reigen knew exactly what they were reading about.

"Wholesome reading!" shouted Tome. She smiled to herself. That was a great lie. Mob shook her head. Before she could say anything Tome covered her mouth.

"It's not a lie, it's a value judgement. I consider this to be very wholesome so I'm not lying." Said Tome. Mob nodded. She would have said something but her mouth was still covered.

"Yeah, sure…" said Reigen. She'd have to have a talk with those two later but right now she needed to find those pants. Oh! Maybe in that old Amazon box in the back!

"This is wholesome? But Tome, they're-?" said Mob

"Mob, I've seen things that you can't even imagine. This is kindergarten stuff compared to what I've seen." Said Tome

"….it gets worse?" asked Mob

"So much worse. Mob, you are so lucky you have me to guide you. I swear, if it weren't for me you'd be totally lost." Said Tome

"That's not true, I have Master Reigen. She helps me out a lot." Said Mob. Reigen smiled when she heard that. Yeah, she and Mob were cool again. She learned her lesson, never call Mob away from karaoke with her friends and that guy she liked. Also never throw salt around on national TV. Also never insult a hundred year old psychic, old people could hold grudges like nobody's business….

"But does she help you out where it counts? Mob, Mob, Mob, you're trying to get with that blond guy, right?" asked Tome

"Um….I want to be his girlfriend. We went on a couple dates just the two of us…and he held my hand and walked me home…and I liked that a lot…" said Mob

"You're so young, Mob. I remember those halcyon days of my second year, when I was still young and innocent. My poor, poor Mob." Said Tome

"What are halcyon days?" asked Mob

"You know! Like, nostalgic times! Aren't you going to ask me what I'm so nostalgic about?" asked Tome

"Your second year?" asked Mob. Well that was what Tome had just said but this might have been one of those social things that she was just expected to know.

"Right, my second year. When I was a young and innocent girl of fourteen-" said Tome

"You two had better not be talking about what I think you're talking about in there!" said Reigen. Oh hell no! Not in her office. She was not naïve, she knew what girls that age got up to. She knew what she got up to at that age, anyway, and Mob was way too young for all of that. So was her friend. They could do…that…when they were her age and she was either really old or really dead.

"I have no idea what we're talking about, Master Reigen." Said Mob loudly enough to be heard.

"Mob, the art of subtlety is lost on you. You are my dearest, closest, friend. Did you know that?" asked Tome. Mob shook her head.

"I had no idea but thank you. You're a really good friend too, Tome." Said Mob

"Then I tell you this in the strictest confidence." Said Tome. She leaned in really close and told Mob something that she could have lived a very long time without knowing.

Everything not nailed down jumped up a few centimeters in the air, including the box that Reigen was looking through.

"With Inukawa!?" was all that Reigen heard. Then more whispering. She shook her head. Well now she was going to have to talk to Mob…actually the both of them…because she was an adult and she needed to be responsible. She was not going to do what her mother did and traumatize them with a diaphragm…did they even still make those? Heh. Maybe she could borrow her mother's….ick. Ok, that hadn't been funny at all.

Hey! Pants!

"Was it like this?" asked Mob pointing to the manga in front of them. She leaned in closer to Tome, the office couch groaning under the sudden movement.

"Yes and no, but mostly no. This is Alpha/Beta/Omega, not life. I mean, obviously we regular people are betas but it's nowhere near as good as this would make it seem." Said Tome. This was why you got a female friend, so you had someone to talk to about these big things that happened in your life! Also you could totally help guide her though all of this! Also you had someone to read weird, smutty manga with.

"….what's the difference?" asked Mob. She knew some things. She knew what she had overheard, learned in health class, and read about in that book mom got her. It was different to actually talk to someone who had actually done this stuff in actual life.

Well Master Reigen probably had but she could not ask Master Reigen about this.

"Ok, well first of all you see how the alpha has that thing? That's a knot and it ties him and the omega together when they-" said Tome. She and Mob were hunched over their

"What in the hell did I just hear?" asked Reigen as she turned the corner with the world's ugliest pair of mange colored yoga pants draped over her arm. They smelled like a mixture of jasmine incense and mother balls and rode up like nobody's business but at least they were clean, in contrast to the utter filth that those two had their noses buried in.

"We're reading-" said Mob

"An art book!" finished Tome

"Uh huh, let's see this art." Said Reigen making the universal gesture of 'hand it over'. Mob passed it over without objection. She did, however, look away. A blush colored her cheeks. Tome just looked put out.

"You two…why are you two reading this? You know that it's NOTHING at all like this, right?" asked Reigen suppressing laughter. Laughter born out of horror for what it was that passed as filth these days. It wasn't like this in her time. All you needed were a couple of guys, one mean jerkish and one kind of soft and prissy, and then the rest just wrote itself. Kids these days were so desensitized that they needed…whatever in the hell she was looking at…

She sounded like her mother. Back in mom's day you drew stick figures on cave walls. Heh.

Ok, not that funny.

"I know. Tome says that it isn't. She-"said Mob. She could never keep anything from Master Reigen, ever. Tome started to shake her.

"Keep it to yourself!" said Tome. She did not need a lecture from an adult about how she was too young and she had her whole life ahead of her blah, blah, blah….

"I know what Tome did. You two are louder than you think." Said Reigen

"Ok, we'll be quiet from now on. I'm glad you found your pants, Master. Are they comfortable? Are you going to do another yoga exorcism?" asked Mob trying to change the subject slyly. Of course Reigen could see right through her like a shower curtain from a shady Chinese amazon vendor.

"Ok you two, scoot over. Time for an awkward talk about what's appropriate in the workplace…and life…because this is some weird shit." Said Reigen

"No it's not! Don't shame me! It's beautiful and romantic and-" said Tome

"I have no idea what in the hell it is that I'm even reading, ergo it's weird shit." Said Reigen

"That's the alpha. He just confessed his feelings to his omega and that made the omega go into a heat so now they're-" said Mob trying to be helpful. Art. This wasn't filth, it was art. Like Tome said. It was like when they went to the art museum and they had all of those paintings of naked people but it was ok because it was art.

"I know what they're doing, Mob, I know exactly what they're doing. What in the hell even is…" said Reigen holding the book sideways and upside down. This was too ridiculous to be awkward. Yeah, she could not let those two walk around thinking that THIS had any basis at all in reality.

"This is the part where the alpha marks the omega, I've been waiting for over a hundred issues for this. See, after the omega's flute goes concave and the alpha knots-" said Tome making a gesture that could only be describe as obscene. Yup. Ok. Now it was awkward.

"I get it! I get it….just don't read these books-" said Reigen

"Hey! I said not to shame me! Just because I'm a girl-" said Tome

"Let me finish you serial interrupter! Don't read these books at work…or out in the world. I can't believe that I even have to tell you guys this." said Reigen

"Oh. Ok. I'm sorry. I didn't think it was that bad. Boys watch much worse stuff than this on their phones in class." Said Mob

"Boys are perverts." Muttered Tome

"Ok, anyway-" said Reigen

"But you said that we shouldn't shame people." Said Mob

"We can shame boys, they're perverts." Said Tome

"Guys-" said Reigen again

"But you're in love with Inukawa, right? Also Ritsu is not like that at all. He doesn't even think about stuff like this. He doesn't even know about stuff like this, he's too little." Said Mob

"Listen-" said Reigen

"All boys are perverts and have been since the beginning of time so it's alright to shame them!" said Tome

"We shouldn't shame anyone, it's mean." Said Mob

"Yeah but-" said Tome

"Nobody is shaming anyone! I just don't want you guys reading weird manga at work! And don't shame boys or girls or anyone! And real life is nothing like this! And you two are too young for all of this anyway! You're in middle school! Wait until you're my age and I'm dead!" said Reigen

"Says you." Said Tome sticking out her tongue.

"You're going to die at sixty?" asked Mob. Reigen stared at her.

"How old do you think I am?" asked Reigen

"Twenty nine, Master. We just had a birthday party for you." Said Mob

"Yeah, I got you a radium cigarette case and Mob got you a Costco sized pack of stockings." Said Tome

"….it's made out of radium?" asked Reigen feeling the cigarette case in her suit coat pocket.

"I hope so, I paid extra for the radium coating." Said Tome. There was some silence. Reigen passed Tome back her book.

"Mob, work on your math homework. Tome man the phones. Both of you, read this…art book….on your own time….and no more radium!" said Reigen getting up to go change into her spare-spare yoga pants.

"Yes Master." Said Mob. She would always listen to Master Reigen. She was right, this was a place of business, not a place to be reading books like that. Even though it was just her and Tome. Not that she should have been reading books like that at all. Mom said that good girls didn't look at things like that or read about things like that or even think about things like that.

So Mob was not very good, then.

Because lately her mind was becoming more and more consumed with things like that. She had always thought about kissing and holding hands and sharing bicycles and umbrellas but now she was thinking about other things too. Things that it was stupid to think about because nobody would ever want to do those things with her anyway. Especially not someone like Teru who probably only went out with her because he didn't want to hurt her feelings or something like that.

"You don't pay me! Every moment of time is my time!" said Tome. What was it with adults? They could all be such hypocrites, even cool ones like Reigen. Just because she was a girl that did not make it wrong. Mob had swallowed that one hook line and sinker. Well Tome was not going to let her friend live a life of repression and regret!

"I'm paying you in experience and good memories!" said Reigen as she closed the bathroom door. Why couldn't they just stay kids for a little while longer? Especially Mob. She was still so young…not as young as she used to be but so young. There was a world of pain out there, pain that Reigen knew well, and pain that Reigen knew that Mob did not need.

She also didn't need weird stuff like that hanging around in her head!

That was so weird, really it was. So it was just…morbid curiosity that led Reigen to wondering exactly what happened in the other…Tome said hundred…volumes of that manga. What was it called? Just so that Reigen could stay away from the weirdness of course.

But then again she did have a certain responsibility to Mob and she needed to know what notions, exactly, she would need to be debunking. So it was only natural that she would need to do some research onto the subject.

But first, the world's ugliest pair of yoga pants!


	6. Aftermath

Teenage girls were like mice, when you had one more would follow.

Cute mice, though. Cute, giggly, whispering mice. Like those fancy mice they had at the pet store, not those regular mice that Reigen's landlord still hadn't called an exterminator about. Or maybe not mice at all, maybe some other creature that multiplied and hung out in your office and giggled nonstop.

God, Reigen was getting old.

But good for Mob, making friends like that.

Especially after what happened.

"Now he's going to put a bomb there, jump! Quick!" said Rei, the newest addition to Spirits and Such. Well not addition but the newest of Mob's little friends to hang out all day. She wasn't being paid in money, experience, or good memories but she had been hanging out almost every afternoon since…all of that stuff happened.

Yeah. That had been a lot of stuff.

But Reigen was fine. She got the esper kids home safe, found Mob eventually, and the insurance paid to have the office rebuilt. The day was saved, everyone was alive, and she had replaced the suit she ruined. That was weeks ago and this was now and everything was fine.

"Isn't this cheating?" asked Mob. Mob was fine. After all of that she was totally fine. Normal. She was normal. Even after that madman beat her up….and tossed her through the sky…and the thing with the sky being set on fire…and then Mob picked up all of those skyscrapers with her powers…

Mob was back to normal.

"No, it's creative winning." Said Tome. Well she thought that the entire thing had been exciting. She even said that she wished that she had been there. The kid had no idea what she was talking about. It was a good thing that she had spent the entire ordeal playing videogames with her friends. Enough kids had been involved in that mess to begin with. Fuck that Matsuura guy for letting those esper kids, kids that didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell, go up against those wannabe shonen villains.

"I don't mind helping out. Back at the lab I used to help Go win all the time. Well sometimes Takeshi, when Go and I were fighting." Said Rei. She was a nice kid, and a smart one. She had brains enough to cut her ties, mostly, with that Awakening Lab place. It was downright irresponsible of that guy to have let those kids get involved. Rei had been the only one who was the least bit helpful.

They formed a human chain. Everyone held onto the person in front and in back of them. Rei was in front, right in front of Reigen, telling everyone where to go. Left. Right. Forward. Back. Walk. Run. Hide. Barriers.

"Which one is your boyfriend, though?" asked Mob, ever the hopeless romantic. That was good. It was good that she was worrying about things that a fourteen year old girl ought to be worried about. Boys and dating, not saving the world and almost dying. Not how fragile she was. Not what it looked like when two…

That was how he put it, the lavender haired mini boss. _"So this is what it looks like when two Gods fight."_

Reigen didn't much care for him…her? Them. No eyebrows lavender haired guy. Reigen didn't care for that person much even though he had saved his life…after she got thrown out the window…after she almost got incinerated….after she offered herself to that maniac to save Mob….after she tried to shoot said maniac with a toy gun….

"Right now neither of them. Go is being so immature and when Go acts immature Takeshi acts immature right along with him. I am so tired of immature guys. I just want someone who takes things seriously. Like, they both still want to go to the lab even though we got kidnapped once and even almost…" said Rei. She was a smart kid, that one. A good friend for Mob. Mob who told everyone point blank that they could not help her and that she had to do it alone.

And Reigen had been a moron for letting her go.

"I can't believe you both left me out of the epic boss fight!" said Tome. Reigen shook her head. She was behind her desk trying to look busy. In actuality she was flipping through her texts. Nothing. Well guys she knew, one from her mother she planned on ignoring, a coupon from the department store she liked…oh. Him.

The man who saved her life.

The man who made sure that she made it through the 'epic boss fight.'

"Tome, Master Reigen is right. It's better that you weren't there. You don't have any powers and even if you did you could have gotten really hurt or even died." Said Mob. How was Mob taking this? Every time Reigen asked Mob just said that she was fine. The very next day, after she had regained her strength, she even asked if they had work. They didn't, of course, but Mob kept on asking and asking and asking so eventually Reigen just invented something for them to do. They just sort of walked around the city…the parts that were safe to travel through…looking for spirits. They didn't find spirits but they found plenty of displaced espers. Including him.

The man who saved her life.

She had offered him a job and…he was taking it. He had nowhere else to go. Reigen had offered it to him in the daze after the explosion and reoffered it to him when they ran into him out and about at a hundred yen shop of all place. Or maybe Mob had led them there. She had been following Mob, mostly, that day. It had been such a shock seeing him after…everything. After everything went all 'end of Akira' and she wasn't sure if she was alive or dead. When he pulled her out of the rubble and she found herself totally fine. Even the scars on the backs of her heels from wearing improperly fitted shoes were gone. Aside from destroyed clothes everyone was fine.

"Yeah…it was really scary. But we're fine now! Really, there's a zero percent chance that it'll ever happen again." Said Rei. The kid could see the future. Reigen believed her. Really they were all fine. No broken bones, concussions, contusions, or anything like that. She was even in better shape than when she went into the whole thing. Well, maybe. Mob's sort of boyfriend definitely was. Poor kid…that blind guy really did a number on him…then practically pissed himself when she and Mob showed up.

All of those guys had practically pissed themselves when Mob showed up. Even Suzuki looked scared. When Mob stopped playing around. When Mob told him to shut the fuck up, exact words. Mob may have been little, and Reigen had been telling her for years that she was human the same as everyone else, but she was also…she was also possibly the most powerful esper in the world. She was strong enough to stop that madman and save the world and save all of them and now she was fine and everything was fine.

"But if it ever does….you guys had better call me!" said Tome. Reigen rolled her eyes. Tome, despite her claims to the contrary, was still such a kid. Reigen wouldn't have been much different at that age…so she couldn't fault Tome. Not that she had reason to. Everyone was fine and everything was fine and they were having a normal day in the office. She was doing something akin to work and the girls were hanging out and playing videogame and they were fine and everyone was fine and everything was fine.

"I'll call you to tell you to run away. Sometimes you have to run away, right Master?" asked Mob. Reigen looked up after a moment when she realized that she had been addressed. She clicked her phone off, she had been in the middle of texting that guy, Serizawa. He was definitely getting the job.

Not that she was replacing Mob.

No, Mob just deserved to enjoy her youth and to be…safe. Mob needed to be safe.

"What? Oh yeah. Sometimes you have to run away." Said Reigen. She omitted the fact that Mob didn't listen, that day. That nobody had listened and they all went headlong into danger and that it was a fucking MIRACLE that everyone lived through that.

But she said nothing, because it was over.

It was over and everything was fine. The kids were safe, Mob was alive, Reigen was alive, and everything was fine.

The girls were back to their talking and whispering and giggling, the subject of their conversation had, mercifully, gone back to boys and their various idiosyncrasies. Back to things that girls their age should have been worried about. Not about epic boss fights and almost dying. Not about what could have so easily happened.

They were fine. So Reigen had to be, too.


	7. Spirits and Such Salon

Maybe if the whole psychic thing didn't pan out Reigen could open up a salon.

The girls were certainly into it, anyway.

"We should shave a word into the back of his head!" said Tome fishing a pair of clippers out of Reigen's emergency 'fixing your hair at the office box'. Well they had been liberated from the emergency 'dog grooming exorcism' box but they could be used on people, too.

"Wait! Hold on!" said Serizawa. The first day at his first real job and this was how it started? OK, so he hadn't cut his hair in…he didn't remember when, but that was going a little too far. He looked over at the woman, Miss Reigen. She just laughed. Well she did that thing that women did when they laughed behind their hands. He didn't know why, he had already seen her smile.

She had smiled so much when they dug Miss Kageyama out from under that big plant thing. She had been crying while they dug but when they finally found her Miss Reigen smiled so much and so big that she was all that Serizawa could focus on. Which was really good because Miss Kageyama's clothes had been destroyed in the explosion. He didn't see her, which was good, Miss Reigen tore his best robe off so that Miss Kageyama had something to wear. Thank God that it wasn't awkward now between any of them.

"Maybe we could braid his hair." Said Mob. She used her powers to braid one tiny, puffy section. There. That was nice, and she didn't just think that because braids were the only hairstyle that she knew how to do.

"But I'm not a girl!" said Serizawa. Things weren't awkward at all between Miss Kageyama and himself, but he still did not want her to braid his hair. Miss Reigen laughed a little at that. Well she giggled, still from behind her hand. Why? She had such a nice smile.

"Have you ever considered a different color? I was going to do my roots today and I could dye your hair, too. I only know how to do red but I've been meaning to try other colors." Said Rei. She looked into the future. He'd probably say no. It was a pity, she could use the practice and if he had said yes there was a fifty percent chance that he would have liked it, a twenty percent chance that he wouldn't, and a thirty percent chance that she would have messed up and dyed his hair pink.

"N-No, I like brown!" said Serizawa

"Your hair feels nice. I've never seen hair like yours before. Are you Japanese?" asked Mob as she poked his hair a few times. It really was nice. Beside her Tome had pulled a dictionary of obscure kanji off the shelf and was flipping through it. Rei was holding a strand of her hair next to Serizawa's to see if the color would look good on him. Master Reigen was just leaning up against her desk and laughing.

This had been her idea. She said that Serizawa needed to look more presentable. Mob didn't even know that they had a dress code. Besides, she liked Serizawa's hair. It was so puffy and fluffy and soft. Not like her hair. Her hair was thick and heavy, kind of like a curtain. It got knots all the time, too, which was why mom said that she had to keep it in braids.

But playing salon was fun. She used to do this to Ritsu when he was little. Not with Ritsu, because he hated every moment of it, he said later on. Even though brushing his hair and braiding it as best as she could was fun. Why did boys hate having their hair worked on?

Well Master Reigen kind of did, too, and she was a girl. She hardly ever let Mob braid it even though it was so long and braidable. She worked hard to get her hair like that, she said, even though she mostly just tied it back. Sometimes she curled it. Serizawa's hair was already curly but could it be curled even further….?

"Mob, don't ask people that, ok? Take it from someone who's half, we don't like that question." Said Reigen. Story of her life. 'Are you Japanese?' Well half of her was and she was born there. Of course Mob didn't mean anything by it, this was Mob.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to say anything mean." Said Mob looking away.

"No! You're fine, Miss Kageyama. I don't mind. My mother is Japanese but I never knew my father. I don't even have a picture." Said Serizawa. It didn't make him sad, not even when he was a kid. He always accepted that he just didn't have a dad. He had a mom and she loved him and she hadn't left even though his powers were terrifying, even when he was a child, and that was enough.

The girls thought that it was sad, though.

Now he was being comforted and patted on the head and the back and they were telling him that he was going to be ok and that they were sorry about what happened. They were such nice kids. Miss Kurata even offered to fill a pillow case with bricks, find his father, and give him what for.

"Tome, no. I am not bailing you out of jail until you're at least in high school." Said Reigen. She decided to save Serizawa from the sympathy glomp forming around him. Kids. Reigen wondered what would happen if she told them that her parents were divorced and she was waiting for someone to fax her a copy of dad's death certificate. They'd probably all have a big group cry.

Well Mob knew…some of that story. The next day she had come in with a cake from Costco that said 'Sorry for your loss' on it in chocolate frosting. It had been pretty good, actually.

And she hadn't had cake in a while….

"Don't worry! Reigen won't have to bail you out of jail until you're in university." Said Rei as she began to brush a section of Serizawa's hair. She needed a different brush. This kind was for Reigen's hair, very straight. Rei knew that she needed a special brush for curly hair. Oh if only she were at home where her instruments were!

"Really? What do I do? Civil disobedience? Trespassing? Arson?" asked Tome excitedly

"Um…I can't tell, it's too far away. But I know that when you're in university, with one hundred percent certainty, Master Reigen is going to have to bail you out of jail." Said Rei

"Joy of joys." Said Reigen as she took the brush from Rei's hands. Well now the guy just looked like a startled poodle.

"Tome, please don't commit any more crimes." Said Mob. Crimes were not good things to do, that was why society had deemed them to be crimes. Tome committed a lot of them. Sometimes she crossed the street outside of the lines, she never separated her recycling, she stuck gum to the bottom of bus seats, she stole movies from the internet, she said that she was an adult on websites, and sometimes she did…stuff…in the park because her parents didn't want her doing stuff in her room. Also one time she picked up a turtle when they were at the park with the pond. That was also a crime, disturbing the local wildlife.

"You commit crimes, Miss Kurata? But you're only in middle school." Said Serizawa. Committing crimes didn't get you anywhere good. All you got was a cell in a power nullification room and a long wait for them to either sentence you to a life either in prison or being experimented on, if they didn't outright execute you. The nation of Japan didn't just look the other way when you committed high treason. Thank God that the prime minister was such a nice guy and forgave him because he defected to the good guys at the last minute.

"I told you! My name is Tome and that's what I want to be called! Also, yes, I have committed the occasional crime." Said Tome as the book of obscure kanji was taken from her hands and closed.

"Like what?" asked Rei

"Tome won't stop stealing movies off the internet and she won't stop jaywalking or touching the park turtles or-" said Mob as Tome put her hand over her mouth.

"Mob! Shut up about the park! I told you that in confidence!" said Tome. Mob nodded.

"Sorry. I didn't know that all the crimes you committed were secrets." Said Mob

"Oh no, not all of them, just that one. We have a guy around now, remember?" asked Tome motioning to Serizawa

"Right. Serizawa's a boy." Said Mob. Would it be weird having a boy around? They didn't really do anything that they couldn't do with a boy around, aside from the occasional 'art book' or 'literary masterpiece' as Tome put it but they weren't supposed to look at that stuff at work anyway.

"Technically he's a man, but we should hire some boys. Like your brother! What's he doing right now?" asked Rei trying to be subtle. Reigen rolled her eyes as she undid the truly microscopic braid that Mob did. That girl and braids. She was obsessed, Reigen would swear to it. Every time she gave in and let Mob braid her hair it would take forever to get them undone.

"He and Sho are hanging out today. They hang out all the time, and Sho sleeps over at our house a lot. I think that they're best friends now." Said Mob

"Sho talks about your brother a lot, Miss Kageyama. Always the nicest things." Said Serizawa. It was so nice that Sho was making a friend his own age, especially after what had happened.

"You can call me Mob, everyone else does. Or Shigeko." Said Mob

"Oh yeah, I always forget that's your name." said Rei

"That's ok, everyone forgets. Well not my parents, or Ritsu, or my teachers, or Master Reigen, or-" said Mob

"Mob, undo this braid for me. Unlike you I am not telekinetic." Said Reigen as she gave up. Her nails were not long enough for this. She really needed to stop biting them so much. She stepped away from Serizawa and felt a sort of static shock. There was some purple to him, too. Oh, right, auras. She had been kind of in his space, hadn't she? She didn't even have an excuse, she wasn't one of the kids.

Not that she had minded being so near to him. Tall, dark, and handsome was her type after all he and he was all of the above. He was also incredibly vulnerable and technically her subordinate. So that was a strict 'no go' zone. She was not the sort of woman who would take advantage of a man like that. Besides, she was a young and attractive woman in her late twenties, she could have any man she wanted, so she didn't even have to mess up whatever 'this' was.

Not that there even was a 'this' yet.

It was the first time she had actually spent time with the guy in person when she wasn't afraid for her or Mob's or anyone's life.

They had been texting back and forth but it wasn't the same. Actually being around him, seeing how skittish he was, and how desperate he was for approval…so desperate that he would even let the kids play mad stylist with his hair…there couldn't be anything between the two of them. At least not until he rejoined society and found another job because Reigen Arataki was many things but a workplace harasser was not one of them.

So, yeah, this was not the time for any of…that.

God. She had been spending too much time with teenage girls. She was getting obsessed. She was almost thirty, much too old to be staying up all night waiting for a guy to text her back and then kicking her feet and squealing when he did. Much too old. Much, much, much too old. Christmas cake old, as mom would say.

Not THAT old.

But much too old to be acting like the kids.

"Yes Master Reigen." Said Mob as she reluctantly undid her handiwork. She blinked as her aura touched Serizawa's. That was still new, her aura touching other people's auras. Ritsu hardly had an aura unless he was actively using his powers but more powerful espers always showed their auras. Sho did, it had been so surprising when she woke up from a deep sleep to the feel of…someone….pressing against her metaphysical self. But that was just Sho and he was harmless. Teru was, too, but she felt his aura only when they were really close, like when they held hands...

It wasn't a bad feeling, just one that she'd have to get used to.

She'd have to get used to having him around all the time, and not just because his aura would touch hers. They never had a boy working there before, it had always been just her and Master Reigen. Then her and Tome. Later on her and Rei, not that Rei worked there. She took it upon herself to be the decorator, she moved the furniture around and put up a lot more pink things and Chinese lanterns, but she didn't technically work there and didn't come by as often as Mob did.

So it would be weird having him around all the time.

But she'd get used to him, even if he did keep on calling her Miss Kageyama.

Master Reigen would get used to him too. But he was not going to replace her, Master Reigen had been clear. Mob was irreplaceable, as all people were. Master Reigen would always be Mob's friend and nobody could ever come between them. Even if he was a boy and Mob had seen plenty of friendships implode in her class because someone got a boyfriend. But Master Reigen didn't have a boyfriend and might not even have wanted or been able to get one. Mom did call her a Christmas cake because she was older than twenty five and not married, which made Mob sort of anxious because she only had eleven years to find the boy she was going to marry, and also it was sad because Master Reigen deserved to be married. She was great and she deserved to have a husband and a family.

Even if she'd end up forgetting all about Mob, then, when she had her own kids.

Master Reigen had said that nothing could ever come between them but Master Reigen had lied before. She had lied for years, even if at the back of her mind Mob had always known that Master Reigen didn't actually have powers. Master Reigen had said sorry and promised not to lie again but…

But there was always the chance.

"Ok, I'm going to go fix Serizawa's hair in the bathroom. Tome, man the phones, Mob, man your desk, Rei…don't rearrange anything." Said Reigen as she picked up her box of various hair tools and products and led Serizawa to the bathroom. A chorus of 'oohs' followed her. From Rei and Tome, of course. Mob just went to her desk.

She seemed kind of down.

But Reigen had said so many times that she could never replace Mob. Not in a million years. The kid was irreplaceable. All the kids were, even the future jailbird.

"So, do you want me to cut it too or just comb it?" asked Reigen as she let the sink tap run warm.

"Wh-whatever you want, Reigen." Said Serizawa. He felt her hand against his back, she had really small hands, and it took him a moment to realize that she wanted him to dip his head under the water. Oh. It was like when mom would cut his hair.

"It's your hair. I mean I can't have you coming in here looking like a mess or anything but I'm not going to cut it without asking. Actually, hang on, take all this off." Said Reigen as she let him go. Her words hung in the air for a moment. He just stared at her, water dripping down his face.

Did she just say what he thought that she just said?

"You're suit coat and button down, I mean! Not…you know. C'mon, I'm your boss. It's not THAT kind of workplace!" said Reigen laughing. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked anywhere but at him. She could hear some giggles from the other room. Reigen suppressed a groan. Those three were going to have a field day with this.

"Um…right, I knew you didn't mean….right!" said Serizawa. Of course she wouldn't actually ask him to…she was his boss and that was not proper workplace behavior. This was not some bad por-adult film. Besides, he knew full well that no woman would actually want him to….nope. Don't think about that. Stay positive! New job, new friends, new outlook on life!

Also you're undressing in front of a woman.

But she's not even looking.

So it's fine.

"You know, so they don't get ruined. Good choice, by the way…of suit. Blue suits you." Said Reigen. Serizawa laughed, just a little, because she really was funny. She smiled then, and she didn't hide it.

"Thank you. That suits you too, that grey suit I mean." Said Serizawa. It really did. Mostly the skirt, though he did not stare. Her shirt was nice too, not that he was staring. The ruffles in front were just eye catching. So was her lady-tie. Or were they called ribbons? He'd ask later. She was pretty, though, very pretty. Even the lipstick on her front tooth was kind of…cute.

One did not have even the barest hint of feelings towards their boss.

So stop it, Katsuya, and think of something else.

"This old thing? I've got a million others at home. You should see me when I get into character." Said Reigen as he folded his shirt and suit coat.

"Character? You're an actor…actress! You're an actress?" asked Serizawa as he folded his clothes so that they wouldn't wrinkle. These were the first nice clothes he had owned in his life. Before that he had spent the past…fifteen, no, eighteen years….in pajamas.

"Kind of. You'll see. I have this fortune teller costume I wear when I do tarot readings and séances and stuff like that. Don't worry, that part of the business is all me. You don't have to wear a dumb costume or anything, just stick to the suit. It really 'suits' you." Said Reigen as she wet one of her combs. She motioned for him to sit down on the toilet lid.

"It feels like a costume…" said Serizawa quietly as he began to run a comb through his hair. He didn't mean to say that, it just came out.

"So does this. The first time I ever put this on, well not this suit specifically but a suit, I looked in the mirror and thought 'who's she'? But then I got used to it. Well, mostly. Sometimes I still feel like I'm wearing a costume. I usually just hang out in t-shirts and yoga pants, or just a slip." Said Reigen as she began to comb out some of the knots the kids made. He did have a lot of hair, it was longer when wet. Uncurled.

"I…I spend most of my day in pajamas, too. This is actually the first time I've ever worn a suit." Said Serizawa as he felt her fingers in his hair. He just sort of let himself feel, to be present in that moment. The feel of her fingers, the smells of her perfume and the incense that clung to her…kind of like floral jasmine smell. Cigarettes, too, but he didn't mind. She made them smell nice.

Stop it, Katsuya.

She's your boss.

"Well it suits you." Said Reigen again because, well, if it's not broke then don't fix it.

"Do you think…you can cut my hair if you want…if you think that it would suit me." Said Serizawa because he had no idea what would make him look good. That and, well, he liked having her close. Even though he knew that he shouldn't have.

"What do you want? Your life is your own, Serizawa." said Reigen giving him that line that she had been telling Mob for years now….and hadn't that backfired spectacularly? _'My life is my own, Master, and I'm going to stop Suzuki. Don't come with me, you'll only get in my way.'_

"….I want you to cut my hair." Said Serizawa after a moment. She took a step away from him and for a moment he thought that she was going to go but she was only getting out what looked like the world's smallest pair of scissors.

"Alright, but I won't do anything too dramatic. I'll only take a little off and then we'll see if you like it. Now hold still, these are the cheapest salon scissors in existence. I mostly just use them for split ends." Said Reigen. She cut his hair as best as she could, guy's hair was different and she was not a stylist, but the finished product seemed pretty good.

He liked it, at least.

And the fact that he liked it should not have made her so giddy.

Thank God that the girls weren't around to see her acting so immaturely.

But she would have to talk to them about all taking their breaks at once…and not telling her that they were going on break in the first place.

"Maybe one of us should have stayed behind. Master Reigen did give us jobs…" said Mob. They were taking a soda break. Well Tome had declared that they were taking a soda break. She had been pressing her ear to the bathroom door for a little bit before she rushed down the little hallway to tell them that they needed to take a break right then and there.

"She's not going to be mad about this, I can see it, but we should bring her and Serizawa some sodas…let me see….canned coffee for her and strawberry soda for him." said Rei

"Yeah, it's thirsty work." Said Tome smiling to herself. Good for Reigen, maybe then she'd loosen up a little.

"What is?" asked Mob. Tome tsked and shook her head.

"Oh my sweet summer children…one day when you're my age you'll understand." Said Tome. There was a pause before the vending machine beside them shook. Mob covered her face with her hands and turned away.

"Tome! They weren't doing…stuff!" said Mob. She may not have been an expert at socializing but she knew what Tome meant. Ever since she had started doing…stuff…it had colonized her brain just like aliens had before. Not that Tome didn't still like aliens…but now it was aliens and stuff.

"They weren't, I can tell. Besides, they aren't even going out…right? I mean, only people who have been going out for a long time can do…stuff….right?" asked Rei

"No, not adults. They just sort of do it." Said Tome

"Really? Wow….I mean gross. I would never just…do that…when I'm an adult….but how do they decide who they're going to do it with? I mean, just so that I know to avoid those situations." Said Rei

"They just feel a spark and then-" said Tome before Mob of all people cut her off.

"Master Reigen would not do anything like that and we shouldn't talk about it. Let's talk about something else. Tome, did you find any aliens yet? Or any UFOs?" asked Mob. Tome, thankfully, went off on a tangent about the time she totally saw a UFO last weekend when she spent the night stuck on her roof because the ladder fell.

Which was good. The tangent, not the stuck on the roof part.

Because Mob did not want to think about Master Reigen doing…anything. Not just because that was Master Reigen but also because….she had promised Mob that she would never be replace but…

But she had lied before.


	8. Tea Time

Spirits and Such didn't just do exorcisms and backrubs.

Of course Serizawa just did the exorcisms, and only when Miss Kageyama, no, Mob wasn't around. When Mob was around, sometimes she wasn't and sometimes she was, his job was to make tea, greet customers, hand out questionnaires, and beat people up who looked like they were bad news. Serizawa still hadn't had to do the last part, he wasn't even sure if that was one of his official duties. Miss Kurata, no, Tome had told him to do that and he wasn't sure if she outranked him. She'd been there longer but she was just an unpaid intern, Mob and Miss Reigen had said.

Her job was to file, not his, but he could help. She couldn't, however, put him to all of her work while she read manga and played videogames. Miss Reigen had been clear about that. This was not a social club, she had said. It felt like it sometimes, especially when all the girls were around at once. Rei didn't even work there officially, she just sort of hung out and decorated sometimes. She was there the least, Mob was there the most, Tome was there sometimes, and Miss Reigen was there all the time, it was her business after all.

She did the most. She did back rubs and shoulder rubs and head rubs, mostly, but she also read people's palms and cards and stars and futures and pasts and all of that. Well Miss Kurosaki, no, Rei read their futures when she was there but when she wasn't that job fell to Miss Reigen. She could read the future in tarot cards, which seemed complicated, palms, which seemed really complicated, and tea leaves, which seemed like something beyond human comprehension.

That was what they were doing now, well she was doing. She was teaching the girls to read their tea leaves. He was just watching them, a full cup of tea on his desk. He wanted to join them gathered around the office coffee table but there wasn't enough space and they were in the middle of it anyway so he would have just been bothering them. He could still see them from his desk, though. Miss Reigen was in her fortune teller costume. It looked nice on her.

Her shirt was loose and billowy, it hung off her shoulders and dipped kind of low…not that he was looking at her or anything like that! She just looked pretty. She looked pretty with the sparkly scarf thing tied around her waist and her super long skirt. She had her hair tied back with a scarf, too, but some of it got out and was hanging by her face….she was so pretty…

Oh no, she saw him looking!

"Hey, get over here! You're missing out on valuable life skills!" said Reigen maybe a little too loudly. She was teaching the girls to read tea leaves, a valuable skill if there ever was. She felt something draping over her and when she focused she could make out a purple haze. His aura. Mob could see it, too, based on the expression she wore. Reigen had known Mob long enough to be able to at least somewhat read the kid.

The slight narrowing of her eyes.

What was she so jealous of? She was not being replaced! Just because Reigen didn't have Mob risking her life day in and day out anymore did not mean that she didn't still like the kid.

"Do these look like anything, Master?" asked Mob holding out her cup. She liked Serizawa enough but she didn't like the way he was looking at Master Reigen. Not at all. The way his aura kept on moving towards her…not that she didn't want Master Reigen to be happy or anything! She just wanted…she wanted things to stay the same or get better. New friends were good but those new friends had never been boys. Well there was Teru but he…well he was different. That entire situation was different. Mob would never, ever, leave Master Reigen, not again. She had enough of that after their big fight.

Even if Teru married Mob and they had four kids, she wanted at least four, she would never go her separate ways from Master Reigen.

"You've got to see for yourself. What you see is personal to you, Mob." Said Reigen. She saw that look, the little one Mob gave. She was such a kid sometimes…not that Reigen could blame her. She'd have to talk to Mob about this again. No man would ever come between them, how much clearer could she be?

"I see….Mob, you're going to have toast for breakfast tomorrow." Said Rei

"Hey, no cheating!" said Tome

"I was not! See, those look like little toasts with bites taken out of them." Said Rei pointing to the inside of Mob's cup. Reigen looked down to see…they looked more like birds but that was not her cup to be interpreting.

"I do like to have toast for breakfast, but I have a full box of cereal at home. Why would I have toast?" asked Mob

"Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe because she saw toast in your tea cup you…eat…toast." Said Serizawa. Now they were all looking at him. He shifted in place.

"That makes sense." Said Mob. It did and she should be nice. She liked Serizawa, of course she was going to be nice to him. Especially if Master Reigen ended up liking him. Which Tome swore that she did, and Rei said that there was a strong probability that Master Reigen and him would end up going out, so of course that was something that Mob just had to get used to.

But it was hard.

"Serizawa, seriously, get over here. Come on, let's see what's in your future." Said Reigen. Not that she was trying to be pushy or anything. He could do whatever he wanted, his life was his own…but it would be good for his social development to…have some work interactions with his coworkers and boss. Yes. That made perfect sense.

"You're going to cut yourself shaving tomorrow. There's going to be a lot of blood and it's going to get on your undershirt." Said Rei, her aura flashing orange.

"Oh…thank you." Said Serizawa. He walked over to the sitting area where they were all gathered. Miss Reigen scooted over, obviously to make room for him, so he sat down next to her. It was the polite thing to do.

"Master Reigen meant the future in the tea leaves." Said Mob

"We don't even need tea leaves, we have Rei. Hey, how do I do on tomorrow's math test?" asked Tome

"You barely pass." Said Rei. She shook her head. She could feel a headache coming on. Looking into the future could be so taxing sometimes.

"By how much?" asked Tome

"Check the tea, Tome, Rei's getting a headache. Or better yet study harder next time." Said Reigen as she poured Serizawa a cup of tea. He took it and began to drink. It wasn't that hot, the kettle had been off the heating part for a while.

"Slow down, you've got to leave a tablespoon at the bottom of your cup." Said Reigen putting her hand on his tea cup. A fake, a replica of what an actual set of fine china would look like. White with a gold rim and pale pink flowers on the front, an Amazon impulse buy. He was holding it as if it were an actual piece of fine china, though. Her hand touched his on the cup. He was holding it so delicately, as if it mattered if the damn thing shattered.

Still, it was nice of him…to care like that.

"I'm sorry, it's just very good tea." Said Serizawa. Not like when he made it. He was still working out the kinks. Miss Kageyama, no, Mob had shown him how to make tea a few times but it was just so…well for him it was hard. She never got upset with him, though, even though his tea was always somehow weak and burnt at the same time.

But she did get mad at him sometimes, it seemed, and he didn't know why. Well not mad…but he could see her aura and it flared sometimes when he made his presence known. It was…kind of rippling now. She was looking at him.

"Thank you." Said Mob after a moment. They were already touching hands? She and Teru had taken weeks to hold hands. Adults moved fast, very fast.

"I still think that we should drink white tea instead of green tea. It's just a fancier tea." Said Rei. Wow. They touched hands. This was so beautiful! Touching hands over warm cups of tea…white tea was the much better, fancier, and more romantic option though.

"That's too hard to make." Said Mob. Mom had shown her time and time again how to make white tea and it never came out right. Mob could only do green tea, black tea, raspberry tea, and sleepy time goodnight tea.

"…it gets more difficult?" asked Serizawa as Miss Reigen took his cup and poured his tea out into the saucer. He grimaced as the cup clinked against the saucer. He hoped that it didn't chip. It was a really pretty cup. Like her.

Don't think about her like that, Katsuya.

"Oh yeah, way more difficult. That's why I just get my tea on the outside. What's the point of making something at home when there's a perfectly good convenience store down the street?" asked Tome. Those two were giving her cavities. Honestly, they should just confess and get down to it already. Adults moved so slow…and it made no sense! They only had so much time left before they got old and died! And Mob was following this example. Rei too, but not as much.

People were so weird sometimes.

"Convenience." Said Reigen as she handed Serizawa back his cup. He smiled then, at that. Mob was smiling too. Either Reigen had finally gotten Mob to appreciate humor or she was coming around to Serizawa, one of the two. Reigen would still talk to her later, when the others weren't around, but she wouldn't push. She read on those parenting blogs, not that she was ready to be a parent or anything, that the feelings of jealousy that Mob had were normal because she saw Reigen in a guiding role and was afraid of losing her….which she didn't need to be up until one in the morning reading parenting blogs to have found out.

Of course some hours were spent down the Read-It rabbit hole. People were wrong on the internet, they needed correcting…but maybe not for quit so long…

She couldn't wait for people to stop talking about her one and only television appearance.

"What do you see?" asked Mob leaning over. If she had to guess she'd say there was something involving…globs of tea leaves….in his future. No wait, she was supposed to see shapes. Baby squids? Chicken pox? The seeds on top of hamburger buns?

There was a reason why Mob was the spirits and Master Reigen was the such.

"The grim specter of death?" asked Tome. Reigen tapped her on the head with barely any force but Tome still acted like she had been beaten over the head with a two by four.

"If I have brain damage-" said Tome

"Then I'd suggest you see a doctor about that." Said Reigen

"I don't think that you do. You seem normal to me." Said Mob

"Normal for you." Said Rei clearly kidding. Tome was alright but weirder than even Mob, sometimes. Not that Mob was super weird, just a little weird. She'd seen weirder. Like the time that Go and Takeshi decided to work on combining their powers by first combining their lives so they'd be more synchronized…Rei still wasn't sure how copying each other all the time would help them make fire tornadoes…but it had been weird. They even started calling themselves Go-keshi. Heh.

She missed those guys sometimes.

"All of you suck." Said Tome

"You swallow." Said Mob. Everyone stared at her. Tome paused for a moment before laughing louder than was necessary. Serizawa stared at her in horror. Rei his her head in her hands. Master Reigen just shook her head.

"Mob, do you have any idea what that means?" asked Reigen. This was, most likely, a Mob-ism. Mob-isms were things that Mob picked up in the course of her life and said without knowing the context of.

"You're too little!" said Serizawa. She was just a kid, barely older than Sho. This just made Tome laugh more. Rei had pulled her sweater up over her face.

"Don't tell her." pleaded Rei. How could Mob be so immature? She sounded just like the guys when they thought she wasn't listening.

"Sho says that all the time when Ritsu tells him he sucks." Said Mob genuinely not getting it. Sho said it all the time and if it wasn't ok Ritsu would have told him so. Ritsu never had a problem telling Sho when he was being weird or just too much. That was what best friends did for one another. Of course she had just said something wrong again…at least her friends wouldn't laugh at her…and better to mess up around people that she knew would not laugh at her.

Tome didn't count. Tome laughed at everything. Teru even had a word for it, when she laughed at others, in his language. Schadenfreude, shameful joy.

"I'll talk to Sho. He shouldn't talk that way around girls." Said Serizawa. Not that he could tell Sho what to do, nobody could tell Sho what to do, Sho didn't even tell himself what to do. Well Sho had said that but Serizawa didn't exactly know what that one was supposed to mean…but the bottom line was that he was the adult and he needed to make sure that Sho could at least function in society, and that meant being polite to and around girls. They were sensitive about that sort of thing, he had gathered. Not that he had much experience with them. They seemed really sensitive about that stuff, though.

"Hey! We can take it! We're not delicate little flowers!" said Tome. She prepared to show off her rather 'colorful' vocabulary but Reigen didn't need to have clairvoyance to know what was coming. She reached over and covered Tome's mouth.

"Do I need to get the swear jar out again? Because I could really use a new pair shoes." Said Reigen. Tome glared at her.

"And don't you dare lick my hand again." Said Reigen

"She's not going to, I can tell." Said Rei helpfully. Reigen took her hand away. Tome rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Said Tome when Reigen took her hand away. Well she was going to say a lot but she wasn't going to give Rei the satisfaction of being right.

"Yes you were." Said Rei simply. Serizawa couldn't help it, he really couldn't. He laughed, just a little, because they were just so adorable. Miss Kur-Tome glared at him.

"…I will destroy you…" said Tome darkly

"She doesn't mean it. Tome just says things like that sometimes but she doesn't mean it." Said Mob

"If you're going to be destroying each other do it outside, I'm not having this office rebuilt again. I really don't think the insurance will cover it." said Reigen

"You never know." Said Tome with a shrug. Reigen rolled her eyes. Mob looked between the two of them.

"Also, Mob, to be safe don't repeat anything your little brother's friend says." Said Reigen

"Why?" asked Mob genuinely not getting it.

"Because boys are gross and immature. Oh! No offense!" said Rei as Serizawa ducked his head.

"Yeah, you're one of the good ones." Said Tome with a wave of her hand.

"Um…thank you?" asked Serizawa not sure if he wanted to be a credit to his gender.

"Really, you're very nice and you dress nice and you're never immature, ever, and your tea making is just fine…um….and you're really tall…um." Said Rei quickly.

"He's punctual too." Said Mob trying to be nice.

"And he keeps me from being accused of sex discrimination." Said Reigen. That got her a few giggles.

"Oh grow up you three." Said Reigen

"Sorry Master, but you said-"said Mob

"Kids! Honestly. Get your minds out of the gutter and back on your tea cups." Said Reigen. There was some tea cup gazing. Tome held hers close and turned it around and around. Mob studied hers intently. Rei shook her head. Serizawa shared her sentiments.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be seeing. All he saw were a bunch of abstract shapes.

"Remember, the handle it you. Go clockwise. Things to the left are the past and things to the right are the present. The closer they are to the handle the more important they are." Said Reigen

"Most of mine are to the left, Master. See, that's an explosion…that's a running shoe…that looks like a bent spoon…I don't have a lot on the future side. All I have is that blob…" said Mob. Reigen leaned over.

"Well most of your past is more towards the bottom. Remember, the closer to the bottom it is the more in the past it is. That blob looks kind of like…hmm….it's pretty round." Said Reigen

"Maybe it's a movie. Teru wants me to go to the movies with him this weekend…." Said Mob quietly. Well he said watch a movie, which may have meant coming over, but it also may have meant going out…but it meant spending time with him, that was the good part. She looked over towards Serizawa.

If Master Reigen wasn't jealous then she wouldn't be jealous either.

"I think it looks like a ring. Maybe he'll ask you to marry him!" said Rei, hearts practically in her eyes. Love was such a beautiful thing!

The table jumped.

"What?!" asked Mob. No way, too much, way too much. Besides, she was only fourteen. That was probably illegal or something! And what would she tell her parents?

"Get the ring first, always get the ring first. That way if he breaks it off you still have the ring." Said Tome

"Congratulations!" said Serizawa, mostly because it was socially appropriate. Was that even allowed, though? Well either way he'd be happy for his new friend.

"Um….sorry. I can't see that far into the future." Said Rei

"Mob, calm down. You're fourteen. Most grown men won't even commit that much, let alone a middle schooler. Honestly I think it looks like plate, you might end up getting dinner. Either way tell me how it goes." Said Reigen. These kids read too much Shoujo, it was rotting their brains. At least Mob wasn't fully gone. Heh. Mob married…the thought is bittersweet. She'd grow up, hell, she was growing up. All the kids were. That was a good thing. Mob would grow up and probably get married and have her own family and her own life…but hopefully there'd still be a place in it for Reigen.

Because this was nice. Her, the kids, Serizawa. Just a nice afternoon together. She was more grateful for these. She had taken them for granted, before, her afternoons with Mob back before all of this. Those could have been taken away so easily…and not just because of that stupid fight that they had.

She looked towards Serizawa. Yes. She so easily could have…but she's there and she's fine. She's sitting there with Serizawa and the girls and everything was fine. The girls were talking about Mob's big date, now. Good for Mob. Haystack was a good kid. A terrible flirt, suicidally overconfident, and probably colorblind but he was a genuinely nice kid. He made Mob happy, that was the big thing. After all of that insanity was over and they were back to their normal lives. No, their improved lives.

She's maybe staring at him.

"I….I have no idea what I'm looking at." Said Serizawa. It was all just abstract shapes to him. The kids were talking about what they saw and what it meant, apparently Tome was seeing the grim specter of death everywhere, but he didn't see anything.

"Here, let me see." Said Reigen. She put her hand on the cup, her fingers over his. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. This was so dumb. She was his BOSS. She was like the President, untouchable. Maybe this was just some kind of transference or something. Maybe she was just what the President was to him…

But she was nothing like Suzuki.

She was so brave and…and she had almost died for her friends…these kids. Suzuki beat his own son half to death…and he had done nothing to stop it…but she had tried to shoot Suzuki with a toy gun…and when that didn't work she actually offered to…to actually…

And now that woman, that brave woman, was sitting there next to him.

Because of him. Because he had been brave enough to save her life. Because he had been brave enough to go up against the most powerful…he sees Mob's aura flare as her friend teases her…second most powerful being on Earth. Miss Reigen was alive because of him…wow. He saved a life! He tries to focus on that. Not the fact that she's so close. Not the fact that her fingers are touching his. Not the fact that she smells like cigarettes but it's so…nice.

He tries to focus on what she's saying.

"….mostly in your past. That's good. The recent past, too. Wow, you actually got a lot going on in the recent past. The far past…I'm seeing something big and then a whole lot of nothing. I mean, we both know what that probably is…but there's a lot in your future." Said Reigen. She was this close for professional reasons, that was all. Really. That was all. Not because he made her feel safe….he had saved her from….and not because he was so, well…there was something about him…and not just looks wise….

Stop it, Arataki. He doesn't need this right now.

Grateful. She's just grateful that he saved her life. That's all.

"Is that bad?" asked Serizawa

"Well you tell me. Do you see anything bad? Don't try to make the leaves say anything, just go with it." Said Reigen. Serizawa tried to heed her sage wisdom. If there was truth to clairvoyance then there was truth to divination. Probably.

"I see…it looks like people…and buildings….and that one looks kind of like the sun…" said Serizawa focusing on the leaves and not how close she was. Closer, now. He could feel her hair resting on his side.

"That's great! Maybe it's about how successful you'll be at rejoining society. I mean, it's spread through the near and far future, and you're already doing pretty well." Said Reigen scooting away because, well, she had been in his space.

"….I don't really think that I am-" said Serizawa

"Think positive! You're doing great. You've got a job, friends, and you won over my army of teenage girls. You're doing great." Said Reigen meaning every word of it. All things considered the guy should have been a complete and total mess but he was doing just fine. A job, friends, teenage girls accepting you…what more could a person want?

Don't think about him like that, Arataki.

"Th-thank you! Mi-Miss Reigen." Said Serizawa. She really thought so well of him? Her? He smiled, just a little. He felt an aura against his. Mob was looking at him. She was blank as always, her face anyway. Her aura was…calm. That was good. That was nice. He did so want them to be friends.

She had been the one to show him what real friendship was.

Reigen watched Mob watching Serizawa. She had seen enough of her Mob expressions to know that she was…ok. Not that little jealous looks she had been giving before. Good. Maybe she wouldn't have to have that Master/Student talk later about how no matter what she'd never, ever, be replaced. If Reigen could see Mob's tea cup she probably would have seen a future full of people who cared about her and good experiences and everything that the kid deserved.

Maybe Reigen would even have been in there, too.

Who, besides Rei, actually knew what the future held?

She didn't look at her own tea cup.


	9. All Made Up

Mob wondered if she was wearing enough perfume.

Tonight after work she was going to go to the movies and have dinner with Teru. It was a Friday night so mom and dad said that she could be home late. Tome offered to tell her parents that they would be having a sleepover but Mob didn't like to tell lies. Lies took away trust and trust was the corner stone of any relationship.

Master Reigen stopped lying to her and they were much better friends now. Well they had always been good friends but now they were even gooder friends. More good…better. Better friends. They were even better friends than before because they had honesty. Honesty was very important. Mob was always honest with everyone, unless she didn't have anything nice to say that is. Like how sometimes Sho smelled like a pet store, because he hung out at the pet store all day sometimes probably, or like how sometimes Tome could be kind of mean, but not on purpose.

If you didn't have anything nice to say then you shouldn't say anything at all. Best advice she had ever gotten.

She could have used some more good advice, honestly. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Teru was going to pick her up from work and then they were going to go on a date together. A real date. With hand holding and everything. Not that she had never held hands before. They held hands when he walked her to work sometimes or when they hung out. Hand holding was nice.

Was kissing better?

Mob didn't know. The only person she ever kissed was Ritsu, which was not the same. There was a difference between kissing your little brother on the forehead and kissing your…was Teru her boyfriend? He never said that he was and she never asked….because it might have been one of those things that went without saying…..either way kissing your brother and kissing your boyfriend were two entirely different worlds of kissing. She loved Ritsu but not like how she felt about Teru, that would have been illegal and wrong. Also gross. That was the sort of thing that only happened in anime for a reason.

She wished that she had watched more anime to prepare for this, and read more manga. Shoujo manga, the kind she liked, not the kind Tome liked. Though it had been informative in the sense that it informed Mob that she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Also there was a lot of biting involved in…adult stuff…which did not look fun at all. Not that Mob was going to be doing any of that adult stuff.

She hadn't even kissed anyone yet.

That was why she really could have used some advice, some sage wisdom. Tome had some wisdom but it wasn't very sage. She just said that boys were dumb and you had to make all the moves or they'd never, ever, do anything and then complain that girls didn't like them. Rei agreed. She said that Go would have never gone out with her if she hadn't confessed to him, she saw the whole thing with her clairvoyance.

Teru had made the first move, though.

After the whole thing where they saved the world he had confessed to her. He took her hand and told her that she was the most amazing girl that he had ever met and that he liked her. After that came the hanging out and the hand holding. But he never asked her to be his girlfriend, not with words. He held her hand and told her that he liked her but he never said that she was his girlfriend.

And he still hadn't kissed her, either.

Not that she was complaining. She never thought that a boy could ever like her. She wasn't pretty and popular like Tsubomi, those were the types of girls who got boyfriends. She wasn't outspoken and self-assured like Tome was either. She was just Mob. She never thought that she would even have anything close to this. But she did. She was going on a date with Teru and it would be nice and he would hold her hand and everything, maybe even kiss her.

She watched the clock.

She had gotten made up for this. Well Rei made her up in the bathroom before she left. She even let Mob borrow her perfume. Mob wasn't sure how much was enough so she kept putting more on when she stopped being able to smell it. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes or touch her face. She couldn't mess up Rei's handiwork. She had gone home already. Everyone had, well not Master Reigen or Serizawa. They were in the back reorganizing the storage room.

And nothing else.

She didn't get why Rei shipped them so hard, or even how shipping real people worked. She understood shipping characters, Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami were so obviously meant for one another, but she didn't get shipping real people. Not that she minded. Master Reigen could like whoever she wanted, it was none of Mob's business who she liked and held hands with and probably kissed. She could kiss whoever she wanted to. She could be in there kissing Serizawa right now and Mob wouldn't even care.

Really she was happy for Master Reigen. Very happy. Serizawa was a nice person and Master Reigen deserved a nice person. She had said a bunch of times before that it was hard finding a good man. Mob didn't get it. There were men everywhere. There were men at the park and the train station and the shopping center and the Costco, why was it so hard to find a good one. She knew that boys could be kind of immature, why they liked fighting and drawing people's…parts…on anything and everything she did not know, but there were good ones. Ritsu was a good one, so was…ok maybe not Sho….but definitely Teru…but yeah a lot of boys could be so…well…like boys.

Maybe they didn't grow out of it. Maybe that was why Master Reigen had trouble finding a boyfriend.

Mom said that Master Reigen was a Christmas cake and that was why she liked taking care of other people's kids, because she didn't have any of her own and probably wouldn't ever. That was so sad. Mob didn't want to be replaced but she didn't want Master Reigen to die alone without anyone to love her and stuff. Master Reigen just said, when Mob told her what mom said, that there was no such thing as Christmas cake and that she did just fine when it came to guys.

Then she laughed when Mob came in the next day with a Costco Christmas cake.

Then they had cake.

And it was good.

Maybe she and Teru could have cake. He did like going to places that only had cake and coffee and tea and sandwiches. But those were lunch places. He probably wanted to go to a dinner place now. Was dinner before or after the movie? Or maybe during, if they went to dinner theatre. The place that served food during the movie that her family went to once, not the place where they served dinner and you saw a play. Plays were boring, movies were fun. Especially romantic action movies. Or romantic action anime movies. Or romantic action anime movies with mechs but the mechs were actually clones of angels and-

Maybe they could just stay inside and watch EVA.

Not that Mob should watch EVA, because it was for boys mom had said. Mom said that Mob needed to make more of an effort to be more like the other girls. Mob knew she was weird. Maybe that was why Teru still hadn't kissed her or told her that she was his girlfriend or even tried to do…not that Mob was ready to do…well she thought about it a lot but thinking about it was not the same as being ready to…well she had no idea if she would even like it when it happened…she still wasn't sure what exactly there ever was to do…but either way he still hadn't even kissed her and that was because she was weird and stuff.

Maybe the makeup would help.

Rei did know a lot about this kind of stuff. She wore makeup all the time, and from fancy brands too. Rei said that the fancy stuff was better than the drugstore stuff. Not that Mob had ever worn any makeup before. Mom had said that she was too young but she had been younger then, twelve, but now she was older. Besides, Rei wore makeup and she was thirteen. Maybe the makeup would help, and the perfume too. Mob smelled herself. She needed more, she couldn't smell it anymore.

"….where any of this stuff even came from. I mean, what in the hell am I going to do with all of this?" Mob heard the storeroom door open. Serizawa came out first carrying a big box with his powers, then Master Reigen came out with a new year's hat from two years ago on.

"Hey Mob, you want some party favors…oh my God, did a flower shop explode?" asked Reigen as it hit her, the smell of artificial flowers with notes of…was that cotton candy?

"It smells so…nice in here." Said Serizawa trying his best to be nice. It smelled kind of like the inside of his mom's purse. Like flowers and candy. It was…well Mob seemed to like it so he'd be nice.

"Thank you. Rei let me borrow her perfume. She made it herself using three different kinds of perfume." Said Mob. Reigen pulled her blouse up over her nose and motioned for Serizawa to open a window.

"Mob, that's body spray, not perfume…." Said Reigen. She decided to choose her words carefully after that as she got a good look at Mob. That was…well she had been thorough with the makeup…could have used a paler shade of…everything….though...

"Oh. I'm sorry. Rei just called it perfume." Said Mob as Serizawa opened the windows. Mob pulled her shirt up and smelled herself. Well now she could smell it. It was kind of strong…but that was good right? That meant that it would last a while.

"Well you smell nice and you look very pretty." Said Serizawa. He didn't know much about women, he hadn't been working around them for very long, but he knew that they liked to look pretty. That was why they dressed so nice and did their hair and wore makeup and stuff. Well most of them. Minegishi didn't care about any of that but Minegishi was Minegishi.

"Thanks. Rei did my makeup." Said Mob. She just wished that she had thought to bring something to change into. She was still in just her school uniform, not that she had that many fancy things to wear at home….but anything would have been better than her school uniform.

"I can see that….hey Serizawa? You can head out now, we'll finished the store room later. Oh! And feel free to take as many party favors as you want. I have no idea why I have these or what I'm supposed to do with them." Said Reigen as she pulled a noise maker from several New Year's eves ago.

"You can cross out the year and use them for this New Year's Eve." Said Mob after Serizawa said his goodbyes and left. Master Reigen was leaning over her desk and digging through her bag. Mob held her in place with her powers so she wouldn't fall or break the heel off of her shoe again. Her underdress was showing and her stocking had a rip in it. Mob tugged down her skirt but didn't know what to do about the stocking.

She was so glad that she didn't have to wear stockings. They seemed like much more trouble than they were worth.

"Good thinking Mob, good thinking….where in the hell is my….how do I have so much crap in here…" muttered Reigen as she dug around for her makeup bag. The comprehensive one, not the on the quick one. The one with the makeup remover because she could not let Mob go around looking like that.

Not that Mob looked any better than Reigen did herself when she first tried makeup. The raccoon eye was in and Reigen may have taken it a bit too far…but she would not let Mob get teased like she had been. Nope. The kid did not deserve that.

"What are you looking for, Master?" asked Mob

"…what even is some of this…oh, um, my good makeup bag, Mob…." Said Reigen

"Oh. But you look nice, Master." Said Mob

"Not for me for…this had better not be the wrong bag….for you….yes!" said Reigen. The inner secret pocket. Always check the inner secret pocket….not that she ever did. Well now she knew where she had put her emergency comprehensive makeup bag, with concealer and foundation to hide the evidence of rough nights.

Because she was living in a society and had to keep up with certain standards of appearance.

And for some strange reason even men her age turned into leeches the minute you got them alone.

'But I'm already wearing makeup. I don't think that I can wear anymore. Rei said that it was important that I didn't touch my face or disturb it in any way." said Mob. Rei knew what she was talking about. She always looked nice when she wore makeup, which was often, because she spent a lot of time watching videos to learn how to do it.

"Mob…you look nice…but…um…" said Reigen searching for a nice way to say that maybe, just maybe, Rei wasn't an expert in the field of makeup, being thirteen and all.

"You and Rei have totally different coloring and features!" said Reigen landing on something that, hopefully, wouldn't crush Mob's fragile self-esteem.

"Oh. Right. Because her hair is red and mine is black…and I'm paler than her…and my face is rounder…and-" said Mob

"Right, you look totally different from her. She only has experience doing her own makeup, not yours, so let me, um, maybe help you tone it down a little." Said Reigen looking Mob up and down. Nobody needed that much blush…or eyeliner…or eye shadow….or lip liner….or lip gloss….and what color even was that foundation….or was that bronzer? Was Rei seriously using bronzer as foundation…?

This was why it was best to get these blunders over with during adolescence.

"Tone it down?" asked Mob

"Because you're a lot paler than Rei is, Mob." Said Reigen as she motioned for Mob to follow her to the bathroom.

"That's because I don't take UV damage, Sho said so. That's why he's so pale, too, he said." Said Mob as she followed Master Reigen into the bathroom. She clicked the light on and began to lay out the stuff from her makeup bag. She occasionally held something up and either nodded and shook her head no.

"You know what? Your skin is pretty damn clear and pretty damn pale, you don't even NEED foundation." Said Reigen putting all of her various foundations away. She didn't even have anything that came close to being pale enough to be something that Mob would wear and not look like she spent too long staring at the sun.

"Oh. But Rei said that I did. She said that I needed a primer, then the first layer of foundation, then the concealer, then another layer of-" said Mob. Master Reigen shook her head and sat Mob down on the toilet lid. She took out a bottle of something clear and the poured it onto some folded up toilet paper.

"Well Rei's a different person than you are. You're pale and your skin is clear, you don't need foundation or concealer." Said Reigen as she began to undo Rei's handiwork. Wow, Mob hadn't been exaggerating. No wonder Rei's skin was so…like that. Reigen just thought that it was a side effect of being thirteen. Well the makeup was worn to hide the blemishes but the blemishes just got worse with the makeup so more makeup was needed and it just became an endless cycle.

"Oh. I thought that I did….doesn't everyone? Rei said that unless you were doing your whole face it would be pointless." Said Mob

"Mob, nobody NEEDS makeup. It's just…nice to wear sometimes…why are you even wearing makeup? And body spray?" asked Reigen

"…..Teru and I are going on a date tonight and I thought that if I looked…pretty….like the kinds of girls that he could go out with….that maybe he would…um….he still hasn't called me his girlfriend yet…I mean he said that he liked me and I told him that I like him…and we hold hands…but he hasn't even um…" said Mob as Master Reigen wiped away all of Rei's hard work. When the paper got oversaturated Master Reigen got to the counter to wet some more.

"Well I'd ask him to either make you his official girlfriend or take a hike. If you want commitment then you've got to ask for it." Said Reigen after a moment. Mob would not go through what she went through. She thought that Mob and Haystack were an official couple…but then again she had no idea how the kids were measuring that these days. When she was a kid when the hand holding started then that was it.

Who the hell knew with kids these days?

"I just…but I can't ask…" said Mob

"Why the hell not?" asked Reigen getting back to work.

"Because…girls don't ask boys to-" said Mob

"Who told you that?" asked Reigen

"My mom. She says that boys don't like girls who are forward like that." Said Mob. Reigen bit back what she was going to say. Right. No matter her opinion on Mob's mother she had to be nice.

"Your mom is…from a different time. What is she? Forty?" asked Reigen

"Forty one." said Mob

"Well then she's about my mom's age. My mom's forty nine, almost fifty. It was a different time back then, Mob, and the rules have gotten a more relaxed since she was dating. There's nothing wrong with telling this guy that you want commitment. Don't just wait around for him to decide to ask you. You've got to try and go for what you want, and have this conversation early. There's nothing worse than not being on the same page and finding out years after the fact, believe me." Said Reigen

"Did that happen to you?" asked Mob

"Yeah….back in university…but that's a story I'll tell you when you're older." Said Reigen as she finished. She was not going to tell Mob that story, not when she was fourteen and had a world of promise in front of her. She did not need to know just how south adult relationships could go.

"I'm not little anymore." Said Mob. She hated that. When an adult said that they would tell you something when you got older they meant that they thought that you were still a baby and would probably never tell you.

"I know you aren't little anymore but there are some things that you just aren't ready to hear about, ok? You're just starting on one of the most amazingly…everything….parts of life and you don't need my mistakes hanging over your head." Said Reigen as she motioned for Mob to close her eyes. OK, time for a sensible amount of eye makeup….in a more natural shade. Hot pink seldom looked nice…

"Because of….adult stuff?" asked Mob whispering that last part. Reigen smiled. Despite the makeup she was still such a kid.

"Yes…some of what you're thinking of and some of…just the more adult parts of being in a relationship. It's not just about sharing your body with someone. You share your life, too, and that's the hard part." Said Reigen

"Do you mean like getting married? I'm too young to get married, Master, and I don't even….I don't even know if Teru would want to marry me….he still hasn't even kissed me…" said Mob as she felt something brushing across her eyelid.

"Have you tried asking him?" asked Reigen. Part of her wanted to tell Mob that she was way too young to even be thinking about that kind of stuff. Part of her wanted to take Mob to the park like she had back when Mob was eleven and see who could swing the highest or climb the play structure the fastest or…well anything. But Mob was growing up and it was useless to try and stop her. Detrimental, even. Mob was growing up whether Reigen liked it or not.

"I…I don't know if I could. What if he says no? Or what if…what if he says yes and…then I'm bad at it and he says that he wants to go back to one of the other girls that he used to go out with because I'm so terrible at it…" said Mob

"Well then he can drink a cup of Drain-O." said Reigen as she got out her least clumpy mascara. She wanted to tell Mob that it would be fine, that she was catastrophizing, but Reigen knew how badly these things could go, especially at that age. Not that she saw Haystack doing something like that. The kid had almost died for Mob, twice now, one did not just do that for someone.

"….that's dangerous, Master. You could die." Said Mob. That was not a nice thought at all, Teru dying. She never wanted to worry about any of her friends dying ever again.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just…I don't think that he'd treat you like that but anyone that would is not worth your time. Besides, first kisses are always awkward, and I doubt that he's an expert anyway. You're both fourteen, how much experience could the two of you possibly have?" said Reigen

"Tome-" said Mob

"Tome is an entirely different person than you are. If anything that girl is moving way too fast…not that I have any room to throw stones." Said Reigen

"Because that's dangerous." Said Mob

"It's a figure of speech. I mean that I have no room to lecture her, or any of you, for doing the same things that I was doing at your age. That would make me a hypocrite. I'm a lot of things but I'm not a hypocrite. Now hold still." Said Reigen as she got out her best blush brush. Blush, not rouge, because Mob was still only fourteen.

"That tickles." Said Mob

"Hang on, I'm trying to blend this. Always blend it into your skin, don't just go over with the brush a couple times in a circle. Always make it look natural." Said Reigen

"I will. If I ever wear makeup again I will. You're good at this, Master, but you don't need to wear makeup. You're really pretty." Said Mob

"Thanks, Mob, I appreciate it. Nobody really needs makeup but it's just…nice to wear. It's nice to feel pretty, I guess, especially on days when I don't look my best." Said Reigen

"But you always look really pretty. That's why Serizawa's always staring at you." Said Mob softly. She felt something brushing her eyebrows and tried to hold still.

"Really? I thought it was just an esper thing….not that I care. He can stare if he wants to, I doubt he knows many women anyway." Said Reigen as she got out her eyebrow brush and worked on Mob's eyebrows. Just a bit, just enough to shape them a little better. She tried not to think about what Mob had just said.

Because she had noticed him staring.

And maybe she occasionally stared back.

"He doesn't. It was only boys in the Ultimate Five, he said, and Minegishi. I asked him and he said that they were his only friends. He still talks to some of them, he said." Said Mob

"Yeah, the tech guy and the plant…person." Said Reigen absently as she turned around and dug around for her soft pink lip liner.

"Hatori and Minegishi. He told you about them?" asked Mob

"Yeah, we talk to each other sometimes. What, did you think we just stared at the wall until you guys came in?" asked Reigen as she found it. She tested it on her forearm. Hmm…could use a sharpening…

"…what else do you talk about?" asked Mob

"Life, mostly. Nothing too deep. Why?" asked Reigen as she got it to the optimal level of sharpness. Too dull and the lines were crappy. Too sharp and the lines were too thin.

"Um….because…Rei and Tome think that you like him!" said Mob quickly. Reigen dropped the lip liner. It rolled across the counter and into the sink.

How obvious was she?

The kids weren't just teasing, they had actually picked up on-!

Ok, stay calm. He would have said something if he was uncomfortable….no he wouldn't. This was Serizawa. You could walk right up to him and spit in his face and he'd still say nothing to you.

"Mob…there are different ways that a person can like another-" said Reigen

"Do you like-like him?" asked Mob. She just needed to know. That way she could…she didn't know what, exactly, she would do with this information but she knew that she would certainly do…something….

Put her mind at ease.

"Mob…it doesn't matter how I feel about him. I barely know him and he…he's not in a good place right now. These things become more complicated when you're an adult. I don't know what the future will bring but for now he and I are just friends, ok? You don't have anything to worry about, and I know that you're worried. Nothing, not even a guy, will ever come between us. Ok?" said Reigen

"…but what if you get married?" asked Mob

"I didn't even know that I was engaged." Said Reigen

"No, I mean what if someone wants to marry you? And then you say yes? And then he tells you that you have to stop working and that you have to take care of the baby? And then you have a bunch of babies and you don't have time to…to be my friend anymore…and then-" said Mob. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes.

"Mob, there are so many things wrong with what you just said I don't even know where to begin." Said Reigen

"Oh." Said Mob

"First of all nobody tells me to do anything. If some guy thinks that he can just order me around like that well then he's got another thing coming. Second of all I did not build this business up just to throw it away for some guy. Third of all I don't even know if I want a child let alone multiple children. Finally none of that could ever, ever, ever happen because I will never stop being your friend. Mob, that's a promise, ok?" said Reigen. Mob nodded.

"Ok. I won't stop being your friend either. Ever if Teru asks me to marry him and we have four babies and they'd be named Shigeo and Takako and Shoko and Ritsuko I'd still be your friend. I'd just bring the babies to work." Said Mob

"Spirits and Such daycare….I like it." Said Reigen with a laugh. Mob smiled, too, because that would be nice. Babies were so cute.

"But not now, ok? Don't get ahead of yourself. You just stick to hand holding and maybe kissing. I'm not going to forbid you from…I don't have that kind of power anyway…but just be careful and be safe. You know what I mean by safe, right Mob?" asked Reigen because, yeah, kids were super impulsive and Mob was too young to even think about such things but this was still a normal, natural process…but Reigen was not ready to open up a daycare center just yet.

"Master! I'm not even…I don't even want to….I don't even know how to-" said Mob shaking her head. Reigen bopped her on the top of her head.

"Ok, ok, sorry to freak you out. Now hold still and stop talking, I've got to finish up or you'll never get out of here." Said Reigen. Mob nodded and sat up straight. She felt something drawing on the outside of her lips, and then something waxy. After that feeling passes a piece of paper was put between her lips.

"Ok, now do this. If you don't blot you'll get it all over your teeth. Believe me, I know." said Reigen smacking her lips together. Mob imitated her. She was the one who knew what she was doing.

"Now go get 'em!" said Reigen as she finished. Mob said her goodbyes and practically ran out the door.

Reigen wished her the best in her romantic endeavors. Mob would do well, she was Mob. For all of her awkwardness she was still a better kid than Reigen had been at that age. Yeah, Mob would do just fine.

And if not, well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.


	10. Conflict Resolution

Girls were not allowed to like Ritsu!

He was too little. Much too little for all of that. As far as Mob was concerned he still got up early before school to watch One Piece and got upset when someone ate the last of his cereal. He was still little and he did not even think about girls. He didn't even like girls yet. He was way too little!

So girls were not allowed to like him.

Especially not Mob's friends.

"…and then he got me a soda and I still have the can!" said Rei as she made another lantern. She liked making lanterns. Maybe she could make one for Ritsu. Or a bunch. What was his favorite color? She'd find out next time.

"…he only did that because Sho spilled yours." Said Mob from her desk. She was reading manga, well she was looking at a page and clutching her book. She did not want to hear a play by play of last Saturday when they all went to the arcade. She was there. She knew what happened.

"Oh! And Sho got me a whole Costco sized pack of soda. I mean, he left it on my doorstep but he left a note too. Oh he's so cute! And funny! Remember that cartwheel he did?" asked Rei

"So that's what happened to all of my soda." Said Serizawa as he hung up on of Miss Kurosaki's lanterns. She was so good at crafting. He didn't know Miss Reigen kept on taking these down at the end of the day.

"A case of soda?" said Reigen as she looked up from her work. Well less work more buying cheap incense online. That was one of the tabs, anyway, and who cared what she did? This was downtime.

"Yeah! He got me an entire case of soda! Well most of one." said Rei. Tome rolled her eyes from behind the game she was playing. Children. They knew nothing of matters of the heart. Also that guy was so annoying. Rei had the absolute worst taste ever. First Mob's little brother, the most high strung guy on the planet, and then his annoying little friend. And Tome did not just think that because that guy was supernaturally good at DDR.

"He only did that because he cartwheeled into you and made you spill yours everywhere." Said Mob. Rei frowned.

"What's wrong?" asked Rei. She knew Mob. Mob did not usually look like that. She seemed…mad almost.

"Nothing." Said Mob. Nothing was wrong, per say, nothing at all. Rei could like whoever she wanted. There was no law that said that girls were not allowed to like Ritsu and Mob wanted Ritsu to find someone to love him and take care of him and make sure that he had enough to eat and to tuck him in at night or whatever else you were supposed to do when you loved someone…just not now. He was only thirteen. He was too young for all of that, especially the things that Rei thought about.

Mob knew how Rei thought because Rei was a girl and therefore thought about the same things that Mob and every other girl thought about. Ritsu was too young for those things, or even to know what those things were.

"Mob's just jealous." Said Tome not looking up. It was plain as day, Mob was jealous. She obviously wasn't getting anything from her boyfriend so she was starting to look at greener, more annoying, pastures. Not that Tome blamed her. That was why she had originally broken up with Inukawa back in second year. A relationship had to always move forward or it would die, like a shark.

"Of who?" asked Serizawa not getting it at all. He could see Miss Kageyama's aura. Mob's aura, she was Mob to him. He could see her aura and she did look mad. Why? Why would she be mad at her friend? Miss Kurosaki was a very nice girl. She even painted his umbrella for him. Not that he had asked her too but she said that aesthetics were very important.

"Nobody's jealous of anyone. Everyone's happy for you, Rei. Now will you quit with the lanterns, we're running out of room on the ceiling." Said Reigen. There was no way that Mob was…jealous. No way. Mob had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who still hadn't kissed her, not that Mob's love life was any of her business, and not that Mob was even old enough to be doing things like that. Mob was only fourteen. She was too young to…well of course she wasn't. She was growing up whether Reigen liked it or not.

And now apparently she had a thing for her brother's best friend.

Not that Reigen could blame her. She was fourteen, she didn't want to wait around forever for a guy to get to her pace. Reigen hadn't been any different at that age. Not that she wanted Mob doing even a tenth of what she had been doing at fourteen. Or any of the girls, really. Well Tome was but nobody told Tome what to do. She had stated as such multiple times.

"There's still some space left." Said Serizawa. He liked them. He didn't know their significance but they helped make the room seem smaller. Smaller spaces were safer.

"We're all happy for you, Rei. Get some!" said Tome. The lanterns hanging from the ceiling all fell to the ground.

"Thanks Mob." Said Reigen. Well it looked like they were going to have another Master to student talk later. Poor Mob. The whole thing just sucked. She really liked Haystack. She called Reigen right after she got home from her date to tell her what happened. Haystack almost kissed her. Almost. He said that she deserved better than the movie theatre at the shopping center and then kissed her hand.

That kid watched way too many movies.

Mob had been giddy, then, and told Reigen in detail…a lot of detail…what happened. Then she hung up, presumably to tell the others. It was touching, though, that Reigen was still the first person Mob called about these things. Well now Reigen would hear about…whatever all of this was about…and help Mob through it. She'd have to tread lightly. Liking the same guy…it would have been safer if the two of them were playing hot potato with a live grenade.

"See! You are mad. What? Just tell me." Said Rei

"I don't want us to fight." Said Mob

"Please don't fight!" said Serizawa. No. Friends shouldn't fight. Not that he had much experience with friends. He never fought with Sho and Sho was kind of his friend…or with Hatori or…well Minegishi fought with everyone…but he and Miss Reigen never fought and they were friends. So therefore friends should never fight.

"No, fight. Psychic battle time! Come on, I missed out on the last one." said Tome mostly because she was bored. She couldn't believe that the two of them were fighting over that red haired kid. If this were a work of great literature, also known as a low key smutty manga, they'd be fighting over Mob's little brother. Now that Tome could kind of understand. He was a pretty cute guy…until you got to know him.

"If you two are planning on fighting take it outside." Said Reigen. She knew that it wouldn't turn into a psychic fight, or really any kind of physical fight. Mob didn't have it in her to use her powers on another human being…ever again…and Rei's powers didn't even work like that. Besides, these were middle school girls. Passive aggressive jabs, most likely, and then that slow sort of verbal fighting that could destroy a person from the inside out. Either way Reigen did not want that happening inside. This was a place of business, not a place of…fighting about stuff.

"We aren't fighting. I just…I wish you wouldn't talk about him like that." Said Mob

"Sho? Why? Do you…do you like him?" asked Rei. Wait, no. She had Teru? Why did she want Sho too? She did not get two boyfriends. Nobody got two boyfriends!

"I think he's nice and funny and he likes animals, which is nice, and he's always at my house, so sometimes we hang out so I guess so. So I want to be his friend, I mean, not his girlfriend. Because I know that like can mean a lot of things and I know that you like him like that. And my brother, too. My brother is who I'm talking about. Sho isn't my brother even though I think his dad thought that he was." Said Mob

"The President said that?" asked Serizawa. Suzuki never even hinted at the possibility that he could have other kids…not that Suzuki ever talked about his personal life…not that Serizawa still gave a damn if Suzuki talked to him about…anything. He didn't care about Suzuki anymore. He had found his own place in society where he had actual friends and he was valued. So who cared about Suzuki? Serizawa sure didn't.

"Wait what happened?" asked Tome. She knew so little about the epic boos fight. Nobody ever wanted to talk about it, which made no sense because it was so cool. Everyone lived. The god guys won. But nobody wanted to share any victory stories. So boring.

"Mob, he was just trying to press your buttons." Said Reigen. She knew what Mob was talking about. She had been there. The way that man could so calmly go from trying to kill Mob to asking her how old she was, her mother's name, where she had been born….

"I thought so too but then Sho said that his dad was still asking about me. Things like my birthday, what hospital I was born at, who my parents are. I didn't understand why but then Sho told me that he was trying to figure out if we were brother and sister. We aren't. I asked my mom. Well I asked her if she had ever been in love with anyone but my dad and she said no." said Mob

"You don't have to be in love to make a person." Said Tome

"Wait, what? How does that work then?" asked Mob

"Don't tell her!" said Rei shaking her head. Serizawa nodded in agreement. She was too young to know about things like that. Way, way, way too young. She was barely any older than Sho and Sho was still so young.

"Mob you and I have to have a talk later on." Said Reigen. What in the hell were they teaching the kids these days? Best to fix that little misconception before Mob's boyfriend opened his eyes and the two of them got up to what poorly supervised teenagers got up to.

Reigen was not ready for Spirits and Such daycare.

Not yet.

"Ok Master." Said Mob. She hoped that Master Reigen wasn't mad at her for how mean she had been to Rei. She hoped that Rei wasn't mad at her for how mean she had been. She had been way too mean. Lately it seemed like every little thing made her mad. They had curry two nights in a row, Sho ate the last of her cereal without asking, mom got mad at her about forgetting to put the top back on the toothpaste….

"So you and Sho are just friends?" Said Rei getting back to the topic at hand. She and Mob could not both be into the same guy. That would ruin their friendship. Sides would have to be taken. Friendships would totally fall apart.

"Yes. Sho and I are just friends. I just didn't want you to talk about Ritsu like that. He's too little for girls to like him. He doesn't even like girls yet. Girls confess to him all the time but he's never had a girlfriend and it's because he's way too little." Said Mob

"Right…because he's little." Said Tome with a laugh. Reigen shot her a look.

"Oh….because he's your brother….ok I get it. I'll shut up about Ritsu." Said Rei. That made sense, sort of. She didn't have any brothers but the thought of her sisters getting up to anything was stomach turning. It was probably the same between Mob and Ritsu.

"You can still like him just…don't think about kissing him or holding his hand or anything. Not unless you're going to love him for the rest of his life and take care of him and marry him and have a house and a family together." Said Mob. That would be ok. If it was the true kind of love, not the kind of love where you thought about things that you weren't supposed to, then it was fine.

"Mob that's…that's a lot." Said Reigen. Well Mob certainly knew what she wanted….not that there were any boys her age that were ready to look at engagement rings, houses, and adjoining burial plots….but good for her…?

"Wait…is that what girls want?" asked Serizawa. So they didn't like you back until you were ready for that level of commitment? But how were you supposed to know that you wanted that kind of commitment if you didn't even know if she liked you back?! What if you planned this great life together and it turned out that she didn't like you!? He liked…well he thought he liked…but marriage? A house? Kids? He didn't know anything about kids!

He reached over and held his umbrella in two shaky hands.

"Yeah, we love commitment. You've got to really commit a whole lot right off the bat. Don't even ask her out, just get down on one knee and get it over with." Said Tome. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack, and she knew why. She could see the way his eyes kept on darting over to Reigen. Those two should just go to a love hotel already and get it over with...but not the Purple Palace, that place sucks.

"What?!" asked Serizawa. Reigen, mercifully, shook her head.

"She's messing with you, Serizawa. Seriously, don't do that. Trust me, no woman wants a man who hasn't even asked her out to just get down on one knee like that. We like commitment but not right away. Mob…I know you like commitment and I'm glad you know what you want but Rei is allowed to like whoever she wants without having to worry about planning her wedding…and you don't get to decide who likes and dislikes your little brother. Ok? And Rei, we get it, you like the guy, but come on that's Mob's little brother. Nobody wants to think about their sibling's love life." Said Reigen as diplomatically as possible. Well this was certainly going well, better than she had anticipated. She should have known that Mob wasn't the type to be like that. She was direct, incredibly direct.

Very protective, too, it seemed.

"Damn it, I wanted to see the fight." Said Tome. Reigen rolled her eyes and pulled out an empty glass jar from under her desk. She turned it around so the label faced outwards.

"Come on, that's ten yen. I warned you, Tome, don't say I didn't." said Reigen. Tome swore under her breath as she walked up and deposited a ten yen coin in the swear jar. Mob went back to her manga, well she tried to. She felt Rei's aura against hers. She looked up.

"I really am sorry." Said Rei softly. Right. She usually looked into the future to tell her when she'd mess up but she only felt the big things coming. She needed to learn to get a clue and rely less on her powers, especially if she was making her friends uncomfortable.

"It's ok. I'm sorry too. I was just a little mad, I think. I don't know. Lately everything's been making me mad and my stomach always hurts a little." Said Mob. She pressed a hand to her stomach. It felt weirdly hard. Maybe she hate something bad….not that she could think of anything that might be making her sick…the milk was definitely good.

"Wait, hang on. I've got a charm for that!" said Rei. She made a bunch of charms in crafting club and she knew that she had one for anxiety in there somewhere. Mob was probably anxious, Rei felt sick to her stomach, too, when she was anxious. She got moody, too, sometimes. She dug though her back and found a charm for anxiety squished underneath her math book and next to her recorder.

Not a very big peace offering but one none the less.

Mob took it.

And Reigen let out a sigh of relief, one inaudible over the sound of Tome cursing and dropping ten yen coins into the swear jar. Crisis averted.

Serizawa just watched this all unfold and tried to piece any of this together. He wondered if he would ever be able to understand girls.


	11. Out of Sorts

Mob had been feeling rather upset all day.

She didn't know why. She got a score above a seventy on her math test, ran the full circuit in body improvement club, and even held hands with Teru before and after school. Those were good things that happened to her. Those things should have outweighed the bad things. So why did she feel like this? So…upset. So…out of sorts…

She couldn't think about all the good things that happened to her, she was just that upset. Just that out of sorts. She could only think about the bad things, like how she burnt her toast that morning and had to eat it because she used up the last of the bread. She would have eaten her cereal but someone had eaten all but a small bite of it. Who did that? Who just ate all but one measly handful of a whole box of cereal? Who ate everything but the ends of a loaf of bread? Who?! Who was this-this-this terrible person?! They were living in a society! People living in a society did not act like that!

They were living in a society! The society that they lived in had rules! You did not just-just-just eat all the food like some kind of-of-of food eater! That was not how it worked! That was not how any of this worked!

Mob could feel her powers reaching around her. The pencils in the cup on her desk began to float around her head. One of them poked her in the forehead. She glared at it and it disintegrated. She brushed the remnants of the pencil off of her face and sighed.

Reigen looked up from her work. Legitimate work. Work that needed to be done. Certainly not messing around on the internet. Nope. Work.

"Mob? What's eating you?" asked Reigen. It was just the two of them. The girls had gone home for the day. Serizawa had reached his socializing limit earlier, it happened sometimes, so he was long gone. It was just her and Mob.

"Nothing. Everything. I just….I don't know." Said Mob. She was at her desk. She had been reading, well trying to, but every time she tried to read on panel she was reminded of her day and how awful it had been….and she didn't even know why. Maybe because this manga was about school life and she had spent the entire morning of her life at school.

"Talk to me, Mob." Said Reigen wheeling out from behind her desk. She knew Mob, she did, and something was wrong. A lot could have been wrong. Mob had been through a lot….

"We are talking." Said Mob with a slight tone. Reigen got up and poured a cup of tea.

"I mean about what's bothering you." Said Reigen as she put the cup of tea down in front of Mob. She took a sip. It didn't help her stomach one bit.

"I just….nothing." said Mob. Nothing was bothering her, that was the problem. None of the things that were bothering her were actual, well, things. Just little things that annoyed her, that was all…

"Come on Mob, I know you. If you want to talk about…anything….I'm here." Said Reigen. Maybe it was catching up to her, everything that happened. It hadn't been all that long ago…Reigen was a grown woman and she still woke up in a cold sweat sometimes.

"It's just…I don't know. Today it feels like…like I'm mad at everything….and I felt this way yesterday, too, and the day before that." Said Mob. She slumped down and wrapped her arms around her stomach. It was like she has a stomach ache that just would not go away.

"Well I know the cure for that." Said Reigen. She knew that feeling, the low key afraid feeling. It never truly went away. Sometimes it subsided, sometimes you could ignore it, but then it just sort of crept up on you.

"What?" asked Mob as Master Reigen grabbed her bag. Mob checked the time, it was about time to go. Sometimes they got a last minute walk-ins, but not always. Mob usually stuck around just in case. Tome and Rei usually had to go home earlier than she did. Serizawa usually stayed later, though, but not for what Tome thought…or Rei. Master liked him and he liked her but they were not doing couple stuff.

Not that Mob didn't want Master Reigen to be happy.

"Something from the fried, greasy, salty, and delicious food groups." Said Reigen. Mob nodded. She would have chosen something from the healthy, dairy, and delicious food groups if it were up to her because she was the student, not the Master. She'd always be the student. She'd always be just the student and Master Reigen would always be the master. She was still just a kid to Master Reigen and to everyone even though she had saved the entire world. She didn't even get to pick where they had dinner…

Not that Mob minded, not really. She liked getting dinner with Master Reigen.

It seemed like everything was bothering her today, even Master Reigen.

She usually liked listening to Master Reigen talk. Now she wasn't paying attention. Now she wasn't paying attention to anything and then also paying attention to everything. How cold it was outside, colder than it should have been, how her left sock kept on drooping because the elastic was broken, how her hair kept on coming out from her braids….she couldn't even do that right. She couldn't say anything right or do anything right and nothing would ever be right again!

It felt like.

That was just what it felt like. It felt like nothing would ever feel right or be right again. That was just how she felt.

Not even greasy fast food could make her feel better.

Not even conversation with Master over greasy fast food could make her feel better.

"….it's a lot for me too, you know, so I have no idea how much it is for you. You're half my age and I can't even begin to imagine how all of this is sitting with you. So, really, you can talk to me. Today, tomorrow, a week from now, a year from now, twenty years from now." Said Reigen between bites of her burger. Mob was being quiet, even for her. Something must have been really wrong.

And Reigen had no idea what to do.

She ate her feelings. She ate her feelings and drank her feelings and shopped her feelings and fucked her feelings. So, yes, she did not know what to do about whatever this was with Mob. She had been coping so well, better than Reigen at least, and much better than Serizawa. Kids were resilient but not that resilient.

"Master it's just…I keep on getting mad all the time. I was mad at myself, today, most of all for being mad. Like this morning I wanted to have cereal but somebody ate most of it and I only got a little bit left. Then I made toast and I burn the bread because it was the ends of the loaf and they toast differently. I was just so mad…and then I was mad at myself for getting mad. I shouldn't get mad." Said Mob

"Mob, you have every right to get mad. Everyone gets mad sometimes. Anger is an important emotion, it lets us know when something's wrong." Said Reigen

"You get mad, master?" asked Mob. She had never seen Master Reigen mad, not once. She had seen Master Reigen annoyed before but not mad…or maybe she had. Master Reigen had…when she told Mob to duck she sounded so…cold. Not mad like when mom got mad and started yelled. More like…like she was trying not to yell….kind of like Mob had been.

"Yeah, sometimes. I'm only human. Never at you or the others but, yeah, I do get mad." Said Reigen

"About cereal and toast?" asked Mob

"Sometimes. Like when I was a kid and my mom would toss out my cereal that I bought with my own money just because it was sugary. _'Don't get fat, Arataki'_ she'd always say, like that would be the worst thing in the world." Said Reigen

"That's a weird thing to get mad about." Said Mob. Her mom worried about that, too. Mob didn't get it. Sometimes people were fat and sometimes they were skinny and sometimes you were regular.

"Yeah, well, mom's a weird lady. I get pretty pissed off when I have to spend more than ten seconds with her honestly…." Said Reigen

"Oh…I'm sorry." Said Mob

"No, you don't have to be. I'm ok with it." Said Reigen. Mob nodded. Now she was kind of sad. Master Reigen told her, before, a little about her life. How her dad had another family and went to live with them when she was fourteen and how people used to make fun of her for only being half Japanese. Mob wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

And grabbed her stomach with her other hand.

She was getting so upset she was getting motion sick….right? This felt kind of like being motion sick…sort of…

"Really, Mob, I'm fine." Said Reigen. She handed Mob a napkin. That was…weird. Mob wasn't usually the weepy type….

"I don't know why I'm like this…and now my stomach hurts and I think…I feel like I'm going to be motion sick…" said Mob. Motion sick was a nice way of saying about to throw up. Mom said not to say throw up because it wasn't polite.

"Mob, if you think you're going to throw up then go to the bathroom. Stop eating, too….that's weird. Mine's fine…" said Reigen taking a bite of her burger. Same as it ever was.

"Ok." Said Mob. This was so weird. The had been coming to this MobRonald's since back when she still got Merry-Meals. She had never gotten sick before. Well they did say that there was a first time for everything. They did say that.

And if she was motion sick then she was motion sick. Maybe that was what had been responsible for her bad mood for these past few days.

Maybe she would just be motion sick and then it would all pass. Yeah, she'd just go, throw up, and then be back to normal. She couldn't remember eating anything weird…though she had been pushing pretty close to the expiration date on that milk…

Reigen did not taste anything wrong with Mob's food, either. Not that she bit right where Mob bit from, that would have been gross, she had just torn some off from the other side. Hmm…well it tasted normal, looked normal, and smelled normal. Must have just been nerves, then. Mob got that sometimes when she was little. She had been so nauseated after the first time that they had gone on a job.

She had been worried about disappointing Reigen, she said.

That was the trouble with Mob. She cared too much about other people. Not in the saving their lives way but in the 'what they thought' way. A little bit of self-awareness was healthy but Mob, well, she was the sort of person that joined a hardcore workout club because the most popular girl in school said that she didn't want Mob on her team in gym class.

Well she was at that age.

Fourteen was a terrible age. All of middle school was like some terrible fever dream that you couldn't wake up from. Not even a fever dream, a twilight dream. The sort of dream where you cycled in between being awake and asleep. When you were paralyzed and disoriented and you had no idea what was reality and what was fiction. That weird upside down place. That was where Mob was. The social rules were new and contradictory, the opinions of other shifted like the tides, and your body betrayed you in almost every way possible.

Really, it sucked.

It really sucked and it sucked for Mob…Mob….Reigen was thrown from her thoughts by the ground beneath her feet shaking. An earthquake? They weren't uncommon, it was Japan after all, but that felt different…familiar. Not earthquake familiar….

Mob.

Reigen didn't have to think. She just got up and went to her, their food abandoned. Mob was…she lost control sometimes, but never for no reason. Never, ever, ever for no reason. Even Mob reasons for reasons.

Her heels clicked against the tile of the floor. She craned her neck down as to see which stall had a familiar looking pair of feet under it. She found them in the second to last stall. She stopped and knocked after a moment….

"Master…?" asked Mob. This was not happening. This could not be happening. This was…she was not dumb. She knew that tis day was coming. She had gone through health class, she read the book mom left on her desk, she even had that super awkward and embarrassing talk with mom about this very thing! It was just….she had not been expecting this at all…and there it was….all red and gross….

"Hey, you alright? The whole place kind of…shook." Said Reigen. There was a pause and  
Reigen wondered, maybe, if she had overreacted just a little bit. Just a tiny bit. Not a terribly large bit…just a little bit.

"I'm….Master? I just….I-I-" said Mob. She could not say anything. She couldn't tell anyone about this. She was not Tome. Tome was comfortable with herself that she could yell across the office for a tampon. Mob was not Tome. She was not comfortable with herself or with this. Why did this have to happen to her? She did not want this. She hadn't asked for this. She had no need for this. She wasn't even kissing let alone trying to have a baby!

"You ok? Did you throw up? Come on, talk to me." Said Reigen. She hoped that it wasn't anything serious. She hoped that Mob had just thrown up or something like that. Well if it was serious then they could just take a cab to the hospital. They had some of the best healthcare in the world. Mob was fine.

Mob would be fine.

"I-I-I just….it's just….I didn't throw up…." Said Mob. She could just live in the bathroom. She could turn invisible….not that she knew how….but it was possible and she could just turn invisible and live in the bathroom until this was over. She couldn't come out. She couldn't get up and open that door and leave after…this…happened.

"You want to go to the hospital? I'm starting to worry here." Said Reigen. Mob was fine. She had seen Mob set on fire, throw through buildings, shoved through layers of concrete….lifted up by her neck…her limbs twisted….the way she screamed….

That was over.

Mob was fine.

"I don't need to go to the hospital! I'm not dumb!" said Mob. There, the anger. She did not need to go to the hospital for this. She knew that she was not dying. Not like that poor first year that got hers on sports day in front of the whole school and then she started crying because she thought that she had pushed herself to far and her organs were hemorrhaging….not that the first year who Mob could not recall the name of had been dumb….because that would be a mean thought to have about someone….but Mob was not dumb and she was not little. She knew what was happening to her. She didn't want it to be happening but she knew what it was…

"Hey, hey, ok. No hospitals. I read you loud and clear. Just….you're ok? Right? Just tell me that you're ok." Said Reigen

"I'm….I'm fine…it's just…why couldn't I be a boy?!" asked Mob. The lights in the room glowed bright. A few of the bulbs popped.

"A guy? Because you ended up a girl, Mob, there's no rhyme or reason to it. That's just the way it-" said Reigen

"It's not fair! I didn't ask for this! I never wanted this! Why did this have to happen to me? If I were a boy then I wouldn't have to worry about this or-or-or-or anything!" said Mob. She was crying now. She was crying and she didn't want to be and she could feel her powers reaching out around her and she knew that she was messing with the lights and she was the one turning the taps on and she was going to flood the bathroom and she didn't mind drowning but Master Reigen would and-

"Oh. Yeah, I get it. I read you loud and clear, Mob." Said Reigen. She dug into her bag. Mob heard the rustling. She didn't pay it any mind until she saw a hand stick it's self under the stall door. Master Reigen's hand. Red nails, one of them terribly chipped.

Mob did not want to think about what was in her hand.

"Pick your poison, Mob." Said Reigen. Poor kid. Poor, poor, poor kid. She had wondered, not in a weird way, more in a concerned way, when Mob would have to have this particularly unwelcome monthly visitor. It was a lot to deal with when you were young, even more when you were, well, Mob.

Her control wasn't that great even at the best of times.

"I don't know how to…" said Mob. Too much. She knew what those were. Mom had those, and she had gotten some for Mob for _'when the inevitable happens, Shigeko.'_ A lady from the Private Lady Sanitary Products Company even came to her school and gave out free samples. The same kind Master Reigen used, apparently.

That was something that she did not know about Master Reigen.

She pulled her hand back. Mob was about to tell her that she changed her mind, that she could figure it out, because she could not spend the rest of her life in the bathroom. She had to get home and finish her homework and wash her hair and charge her phone. She could not live here, she didn't have her charger. She needed to go home and she could not go home while she was bleeding everywhere….

Then Master Reigen's hand came back. She just had one thing, this time.

"This is probably more your speed. The bottom side is sticky so really you have to just put that one in your underwear, sticky side down, and tuck the wings under. They should meet in the middle to keep it secure. Positioning can be hard but honestly, just make sure you cover the bloodspot. That's your best guess as to where the…um…optimal position is." Said Reigen. She could do this. She could be better than her mother. Mom just gave her five hundred yen and told her to go to the store. No instruction, no help, not even a ride. Nothing.

Mob deserved better.

"Yeah, it was stupid of me to give you a tampon. That's a little advanced for you, God knows it was for me. It took me half an hour to pick up the nerve to even try when I was your age. We were visiting my dad's sister and they had just put in this new pool. Well I was not about to be left out so I stole one of my cousin's tampons and just…sat there and tried to figure it out. I did, after a while, but then my mom chewed me out on the way home…and dad was right there! Heh." Said Reigen

"….you were just trying to help." Said Mob. She was glad that Master Reigen was talking to her, and not just to cover up the rusting of the plastic. She didn't want to be alone, right then. She didn't want to have to deal with another super big thing all on her own.

Master was always there.

And it was nice.

"Yeah, well, I should have tried harder. Don't get upset Mob, really, this isn't that bad. It happens to everyone and, yeah, it sucks but you'll get used to it. Give it another forty years, it'll go away." Said Reigen

"Forty years….?" Asked Mob

"Yeah, forty years. Maybe sooner. They made pills, well not here yet it's such a bitch, sorry, pain to get even the mini pill….well they make pills so that you don't even have to have a period. Maybe by the time you're my age they'll have it cheap and available. The times are changing." Said Reigen

"They are?" asked Mob. She tugged her underwear back up. This was…uncomfortable. The wrapper said that it was supposed to be regular. This was what regular felt like? All itchy? She tugged at it. She put it where the, sizable, blood spot had been…or maybe too much to the front.

This was awful.

"Oh yeah. You guys don't know how good you have it. Those things were thick as diapers when I was your age. I used to always tie a sweater around my waist, during, just so that people couldn't see the outline through my pants. You should do that, by the way, because accidents happen." Said Reigen. Mob stood up. She had her hand on the latch. She could do this. She could go out there….but what if…

She felt like everyone would be able to tell.

And that would have been awful.

This was private. This was the most private. This was the most private thing that had ever happened to her.

"That's what happened to me. I was twelve and my school organized a trip for us because we were going on to middle school. Well we took this big day trip up to Tokyo tower. I was wearing these brand new, bright yellow, shorts….and you can see where this is going." Said Reigen

"Did…did everyone laugh…?" asked Mob. She would die. If that happened to her then she would just lay down and die. There was no other option. Either die or explode, so obviously she would just die.

"Actually, no. My friend practically threw her sweater around me and pulled me over to the bathroom. So I don't think too many people in my class saw…but we were on the viewing deck….so I can't speak for the people below us." Said Reigen with a dry chuckle. It was funny, now, but not so funny back then. She had been one of the first in her class, something else to set her apart from everyone….well at least she had a friend. Someone to take her to the bathroom and put twenty yen in the pad machine and walk her through it.

Everyone needed someone.

"Master….that's awful." Said Mob. Poor, poor, poor Master Reigen.

"No, really, it's ok. Honestly I look back at the whole thing and laugh. You will, too. Well maybe not laugh. You got to avoid the public humiliation at least." Said Reigen

"…but what if…I just feel like….like everyone can tell." Said Mob

"Well they can't. Unless you go around announcing it to the world they can't and even if they could they're the weirdos for caring. Seriously. Don't let anyone make you feel weird or bad about this. Half the population has to go through this. It's not a big thing." Said Reigen. Well it sort of was, but also not really. She wasn't going to give Mob any of that 'you're a woman now' shit because, well, Mob was not a woman. She was still the same person she had been an hour ago. She was just a person who was bleeding, now, that was all.

"I just….it's not?" asked Mob

"Hell no. It's normal. Anyone who tries to make you feel abnormal for this can go drink a cup of drain cleaner….and I know that's not a nice thing to say but, yeah, they can go drink a cup of drain cleaner. You're still you, Mob, and you're fine. This is just something that's going to happen sometimes. It doesn't change anything about you." Said Reigen

"But…I feel different…" said Mob. She was…mom said that she would be a woman when that happened. Well she didn't feel at all like a woman, she did not instantly grow up, but she did feel…different. More…aware? Aware of herself. She was getting older…and now she had proof of it…that time was passing….and that she wasn't a kid anymore. She wasn't a kid but she was not all grown up….either…

And she could have a baby, if she wanted to.

The thought makes the tile under her feet crack.

'Well, ok, you're not one hundred percent the same. Think of it like….like having a direct line to your body. Yeah, like you can just dial direct….but you're fourteen and you have no idea what that means…right…" said Reigen

"….and I get to have babies." Said Mob. She had a factory inside of herself for making people. She could make a person at any time if she wanted to….she had the power to create life…not like her powers but…but she could make a person….

Not that she had any plans of doing that. She wasn't even kissing yet.

"Whoa! Slow down there, Mob. I am not ready to open up a daycare center anytime soon." Said Reigen. Nope. No way. Mob was getting way ahead of herself. Haystack hadn't even kissed her yet and she was thinking about…yeah. No. None of that. She knew Mob wanted commitment but that was moving a bit too fast for Reigen's tastes.

"I didn't mean that I would! I just…if I wanted to I could make a person…" said Mob

"Yeah, and if I wanted to I could rob a bank, tell my mother off, and that new bag I want even though it would break me. Mob…listen…just because you can do something that doesn't make it a good idea." Said Reigen

"What does making babies have to do with robbing banks? I don't understand." Said Mob

"It's nothing just…just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD do something. Ok? Just…slow down. I know you like Haystack a lot and I know you two have been through some serious shit but…just don't get ahead of yourself…" said Reigen

"I didn't mean with Teru…" said Mob, her face burning. Well now she could not come out of this bathroom stall for a whole other reason.

"With whoever. Mob just…I can't tell you what not to do….because trying to tell teenagers not to mess around is like trying to tell the tide not to come in….but you have to be…Mob be care. You're right, you can get pregnant now…and I don't want that for you. Sleeping with someone, not that I'm saying that you're planning on sleeping with Haystack or anyone else, is a big thing that you are not ready for. Trust me on this, you are not ready for any of this…." said Reigen.

"Is it really that bad?" asked Mob. She heard that it hurt. She heard that it wasn't very good. She even heard that sometimes the boy turned into a jerk afterwards and wanted nothing to do with you. Even Tome said that it started off just terrible…

"Bad? Um…it can be….but it's more like just…a lot. It's a lot to…to go through and right now you're going through enough. I'm not going to tell you that it's not right, I'm not going to give you the same spiel my mom gave to me about cows and milk and basic economics, and I'm not going to be upset with you if you do but….I just don't think that it's something that you need in your life right now. Yes, you're older, and yes, you can get pregnant and stuff like a woman but…you're not a woman yet. You're still just a kid." Said Reigen.

That was just the thing. Mom had said that Mob would be becoming a woman soon, they everything would change…that she would have to grow up. She would have to act like an adult and put away all of the things she liked like videogames and manga and stuff like that…and Mob didn't want that. Mom said that she would become a woman when this happened….but Master Reigen said that she could still be a kid….

There a silence.

The water stops flowing from the taps.

The lights stop flickering.

The stall door opened.

Mob threw her arms around Reigen.

"Master….thank you." Said Mob. She didn't know exactly what she was thanking Master Reigen for but she knew that she had to thank her. For helping her out. For being there. For always being there. For letting her be a kid. For letting her be more grown up. For just letting her….be.

Reigen hugged her back.

Mob needed it. She needed all the love that she could get. Not a girl, not a woman. That terrible, twilight, in between place. Mob needed someone to help her get through this. She needed help and Reigen would be there to help her. Reigen would always be there. Whether they were saving the world together or exorcising evil spirits together or just standing around having a heart to heart in the public bathroom she'd always be there for Mob.

Neither of them would have had it any other way.


	12. Heavy Lifting

Reigen was ready to admit to herself that she was something of a packrat.

When the old office burnt down she promised herself that she would not fall back into old habits. Old habits being, well, using the office as a storage unit. That was what happened before. Reigen tended to ship her feelings away, or when she was in the black, or when she saw something she really could not live without…and there was the free section on Craigslist….well all of that crap had burnt down and now she was free to start anew.

Without falling into old habits.

She promised herself.

But she had never been good at keeping promises, not even to herself.

So the storage room slowly filled up with various boxes and plastic bins of junk. First came the Christmas decorations because, well, there was no point to carting the whole box back home when she'd have to decorate the office again next year. Then came the box of assorted New Year's decorations again because she didn't see the point in carting them home to just to bring them back next year. Then came a box full of books on spiritualism that she had read before but may need to reference again. After that came a plastic bin full of long skirts, bodices, scarves, and fake jewelry because, well, her clients didn't want to see her in the exact same costume every single time they came in to have their stars and minds and futures and pasts and presents read. That was the same reason she had brought over a box of work clothes that she didn't really care for anymore, styles changed so fast, as did waistlines, and also she had some shoes she only wore around the office and nowhere else…

And that was what brought Reigen to her current predicament.

Somewhere behind all of this crap was the printer paper.

Where in God's name could it be? It came in a big box that said printer paper! Though she did use those boxes to store things….like the one she was standing on. For some reason it was full of Spirits and Such flyers….from two years ago. She remembered why she had taken these home…she had been planning to take Mob around and put up fliers but…oh yeah, Mob had to go up to the country to see her grandparents…

And then they had gotten sidetracked.

That happened sometimes. Like how Reigen had gotten into this predicament. She had been meaning to order more paper for a while now but she had gotten sidetracked, as usual, and now she was in this predicament. She could always order another box but that took two whole business days to ship…

The box on the shelf above her came tumbling to the ground with a crash….a concerning crash….and now there were crystal shards everywhere.

Just great.

"Miss Reigen! I heard a…loud sound…" said Serizawa. Reigen patted her hair down in some attempt at giving it some semblance of order. She must have been a sight standing on the box covered in dust, her stocking ripped, and her slip probably showing….and also her hair, too, while she was appraised her looks.

Not that she knew why she was. Well she did know why she was, she was attractive and she knew it, but why she was doing it now…it was just him. Just Serizawa….and it was just him. It was after closing and the girls had gone home to their families and their lives…so it was just her and Serizawa…

And he was looking at her.

Reigen could feel his aura resting on her. That happened, sometimes, when he looked at her. Really looked at her. Not checked her out, not really, because she could not see Serizawa doing anything like that, the man was pure as the driven snow, but he had this way of just…looking at her.

Really looking at her.

It was nice.

Not that she would read into it. Maybe he was just grateful that she had given him a place to go after the whole debacle with Claw. Maybe he was just pulling a Mob, she stared a lot sometimes because she didn't know what to say, or hell….maybe he just stared because the only grown woman he spent a significant amount of time with besides her were his therapist and his mother.

"…hey…um…yeah….a box fell." Said Reigen. Right. Words. Come on, Arataki, you know how to talk. Talking is about the only thing in this world that you're good at.

"Oh!" said Serizawa. Reigen risked a glance behind her. He had jumped back, apparently just now noticing that the floor was covered in crystal shards.

"Don't move! It-it's dangerous!" said Serizawa. She smiled at how flustered he was. He kept on glancing down at the broken crystals and then up at her. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, that she wouldn't get hurt, that she didn't need to be babied like this, that she was capable of getting the broom and dustpan out herself and cleaning up her own messes…

But sometimes it was nice to have some help.

The room was covered in his aura. Reigen closed her eyes and just **felt.** She felt him all around him. She mired herself in him, she let him wash over her, drown her….and it was such a nice way to drown. To drown in him. To drown in the feel of him. She just stood there and let herself be mired in his aura as he, from what it sounded like, cleaned up the mess she made.

She opened her eyes.

No mess.

Nothing broken.

And a very sheepish looking Serizawa.

"I…Miss Kageyama, Mob, taught me how to do that. Not that specifically, I mean, I just…she says that broken things like to be put back….together." said Serizawa

"Well thank you, you saved me a trip to the new age store let me tell you…" said Reigen with a laugh that sounded in no way, shape, or form natural. She'd heard Rei make a sound similar to that when Mob's little brother and the red haired kid came to visit. God. She turned into such a teenager sometimes.

He laughed too.

His laugh was just as strained as hers.

Then a silence thick as his aura laid over them. Reigen stood awkwardly on top of that box. She was still in a sort of half turn towards him. He was facing her. It looked like he was trying to say something. Sometimes it was like he was getting better and sometimes it was just as he was when he first came to her. All stutters and stammers.

Both suited him.

There was just something so…endearing….about him when he stuttered and stammered. When he shook as he served her a cup of something that could be classified as tea. Weak and pale green. Either ice cold or burning hot. The way he could barely even get out her name sometimes. Miss Reigen, stuttered out in twice as many syllables when they were all alone. Away from the prying eyes and overactive imaginations of the girls. Always Miss Reigen, even when they were alone. Endearing, cute even…

He did not need that.

He did not need that from her right now, or maybe even ever.

He was just now getting used to the outside world. He had spent most of his life locked away and after that he spent so long following that madman around…now he had something that could be called stability and she did not need to shake that. So he was tall, dark, and handsome. So he looked at her like she was the only woman in the entire world. So he was the only man that she could really talk to, well in text. So he was the only man who she ever let see this part of herself, the messy part, the unguarded part. So he could make her laugh with a simple string of emojis at midnight on a weekday when she knew that she had to get to bed but she just couldn't put her phone down even though she knew that she had to be responsible but then the little dots appeared next to his name….

She was such a teenager sometimes.

"Do you….do you need help?" asked Serizawa. Reigen was about to ask him what he meant when she remembered what she had set out to do.

"Yeah, the box up there. I just can't seem to reach it." Said Reigen. She expected him to pull it down with telekinesis or, better yet, come right over and take the box down himself…because he did look strong…and he was tall…

But he didn't do either of those things.

Reigen felt herself rising into the air. She felt a warmth around her waist, like she was being held and picked up…and she was. He was picking her up…and she didn't mind. He was picking her up and…and this was so….him. So very him…

She almost forgot to take the box down. Almost. But she did. She reached up and pulled it down. He placed her, gently, on the ground.

"I-I'm sorry…I didn't think! I just-" said Serizawa

"I-I don't mind. Really, thank you." Said Reigen. She held the box in her hands. She could not meet his eyes. She looked down, lower, at his tie. Blue. A nice sort of blue.

"I-I shouldn't have just picked you up like that, though. I should have asked. That would have been more polite. I probably scared you and-" said Serizawa

"Hey, no. There are very few things in this world that can scare me and you are not one of them. But, yeah, maybe don't make it habit. Picking women up." Said Reigen

"That was the first time…I mean I've never tried picking up any woman besides you." said Serizawa

"Well you were great." Said Reigen. She laughed, again, in that weird way and then so did he. She couldn't move from that spot. Her arms were acting and she had a layer of dust on her face and she was pretty sure that the rip in her stocking had gotten worse but she could not move…

And neither did he.

They just sort of stood there, the question of 'what next' hovered between them. Was there a next? Was there a now? What was it that they were waiting for? What was it that she was waiting for? Was she even waiting for anything? Reigen Arataki did not wait. She saw what she wanted and she went for it. But there was no going for it, not here, not now, not at any time or any place. He did not need it. He did not need her trying to…to do whatever it was that she was trying to do….

What was she trying to do?

She knew what she…she had no idea what she wanted. She knew what wanted with him in the immediate but if she were to ever have that….if she were to get what she wanted then she would lose what she had. She would lose these awkwardly adorable moments. She would lose warm cups of tea like liquid served with shaky hands. She would lose late night text conversations. She would lose it all. She would end up throwing away happiness with both hands for what, exactly? Twenty minutes in bed with him? Her picking her clothes up off of his bedroom floor in the wee hours of the morning? Taking the train home with her hair a mess and her makeup ruined? The stares and judgment of strangers….her trying to ignore it…trying to ignore everything….trying to ignore the feelings that would threaten to grow within her….she could not put herself through that. Not with him.

Because she never stuck around afterwards.

"That's looks heavy, here, let me carry it!" said Serizawa as he took the box from her arms. So polite. So cute. So….him.

She'd stick around, afterwards.

But would he?

It didn't matter. She'd never put him, her, them in that position.


	13. Spirits and Such Nail Studio

Serizawa needed to work on saying no.

It was just so hard to say no to the girls, they were so adorable!

And his nails did look really pretty, too. It was just too bad that it wasn't socially acceptable to walk around like this. Rei did very well. Each of his nails was a different color, pattern, or design. This one was a tiny galaxy.

"I told you not to move. If you smudge them then I have to start all over again." said Rei as she held his hand in place. She was doing him a favor, really. His nails were so boring, before, but now they were fabulous. She hadn't known just what to do to him so she did a little of everything. It was time consuming and she did not want to have to start all over again if he messed them up.

"Do his toes next! Do everyone's toes next!" said Tome as she inspected Rei's handiwork. One hand was done up in galaxies, the other was done up in little aliens. Perfect.

"I'm ok with just my nails." Said Mob. Mob hardly ever painted her nails, the last bottle of nail polish she had exploded when she lost control of her powers and mom was still upset about the stain in this rug. This was nice. Her nails on one hand had little cat spirits on them and the other were the colors of Unit 1 from EVA. Mom would be mad when she saw those, Mob was not supposed to like EVA, it was for boys.

Mom said that she was different enough as it was.

"This is good Miss Kurosaki! Really, thank you so much…" said Serizawa. This was pretty and all but he could not walk around like this…but she had worked so very hard…and she was so very good at this…and if he wiped this off before it dried then she would feel so sad and rejected and maybe even cry…and he could not handle people crying, especially girls.

"I'll do you toes another day when I have all of my equipment. I'll have to do a whole pedicure because, well, it's pointless to just do someone's nails when their feet look terrible. No offense." Said Rei

"N-none taken!" said Serizawa

"That was still mean, though. I'm sure Serizawa's feet don't look terrible. They probably look like feet." Said Mob. Feet could look terrible too? Sometimes it seemed like there was no end to the things she was supposed to worry about. She was supposed to worry about her hair being neat and her clothes being fashionable and having a big bouncy chest and round hips and a tiny stomach and a gap between her thighs and not to have any hair under her arms or on her legs or even between her legs, not that she was putting any sharp objects there ever, and she had to worry about having clear skin and soft, ladylike hands….and now she also had to worry about her feet, too.

What next?

"All feet look gross, especially guy's feet." Said Tome. It had been an uphill battle to get Inukawa just to cut his toenails short, and that was only after he accidentally cut her while they were messing around. Guys. They thought that a little grooming would make their dicks shrivel up and fall off.

"They do?" asked Mob looking down at her own feet. She was still in her shoes but she tried to remember what they looked like. From what she could remember they were just feet.

"Feet don't look gross if you take care of them." Said Rei as she started to apply Serizawa's top coat. She really should have given him a proper manicure. Poor Serizawa, he had been locked away from the world for so long that he forgot basic grooming. Thank God that he had someone like Rei to help him, especially because it was obvious that Reigen liked the suave, well groomed, sophisticated type. Rei could help with the well groomed part on her own.

"Wait….I don't follow." Said Serizawa. Something else that they were worried about. He had been working with nothing but girls long enough to know that there was no end to the things that they worried about. They worried about hair and makeup and clothes and skin….and he didn't know why. The girls were so adorable…and Miss Reigen was…she was…the most beautiful woman they he had ever seen. Not that he would ever tell her that. She might take it the wrong way.

"You have to take care of your feet or they start to look gross." Said Rei

"…this is something that people notice?" asked Serizawa. He never gave much thought to his own feet. Well he stopped trimming his toenails by biting them so that was progress. Did you really have to paint your toenails too? And probably another super long grooming to do list, too, because Rei said 'take care of' and that usually meant do a lot of stuff.

"People into weird stuff, yeah." Said Tome

"Weird stuff?" asked Mob

"Google it." Said Tome

"Don't! Don't Google anything! Just…stay away from the internet! It-it's not a good place!" said Serizawa.

"But all of my MMOs are there." Said Tome as she clicked her phone on and scrolled through her favorites. She had the perfect thing to freak Mob out.

"There-there's a lot of weird stuff on the internet! Just…stay away from it! The-the internet was a mistake!" said Serizawa as Miss Kurata took her phone out. He wondered if there was a way to cancel the internet forever. Sure he'd miss a streaming, forums, online games, things he should not have been looking at…but it was worth it to keep the girls away from the stuff that they should not be looking at.

"What weird stuff? What are you talking about?" asked Mob genuinely not getting it. The internet was a good place. There were cat videos there and EVA episodes and online only manga and pictures of foods that people ate and also videogames….well, all of that, but also all the naked people. But that wasn't weird, that was normal, honestly it was hard to NOT find naked people on the internet…especially when whoever was doing…that…forgot to turn the safe search back on the family computer.

People could use anything as an excuse to be naked and do….that.

"People who are REALLY into feet." Said Tome. That one? No, she wanted to freak Mob out, not make her explode and kill everyone.

"Don't tell her!" said Serizawa. Rei held his hand in place, her nails digging into his skin just a little bit. He might have been bleeding but her nails were so red and sparkly that he just could not tell.

"Not everyone who liked their guys to be well groomed is into weird stuff. Some of us just like a well groomed, mature, guy." Said Rei

"Is this why Go keeps on breaking up with you?" asked Tome. She didn't know the guy well but she had seen pictures. Go and well groomed went as well together as Mob and public speaking.

"I broke up with him." said Rei

"Again?" asked Mob

"No, not again. We're still broken up. He's just not…mature…enough for me." Said Rei. He wouldn't cut ties with the Awakening Lab not matter how dangerous it got. He said that he would be fine, that he was a pyro-kinetic godsend….and do he could barely light his whole finger on fire….

"So that's why you're into short, red haired, an annoying?" asked Tome

"Sho?" asked Serizawa before he could stop himself. Right. This was not the sort of conversation that he should get involved in…but Sho would be happy to hear that a girl liked him….or was he supposed to keep it a secret. He had gotten the feeling that Sho liked someone. He had been on his phone texting someone nonstop lately, the constant coming and going at all hours, and the questions that Serizawa did not know how to answer.

How do you know if you like someone?

How can you tell if someone's into you?

What does it mean when you just randomly think about someone?

What's it like to kiss someone?

Questions that Serizawa was not able to answer. He had never liked someone…not really. It didn't count when he was in elementary school, it didn't count when he was locked away and he got a little…weird…about certain actresses or characters….and it didn't count if it was someone that you weren't even sure if it was ok to like. If you weren't even sure if you liked her or you were just grateful that she did so much for you or if she was just the only woman your age that you talked to that wasn't your mother or your therapist.

"No! I don't like Sho! Why would anyone even think that? That's insane! You've all gone insane!" said Rei. Nope. She was going to deny it. She could not just admit it…not when Serizawa just ASKED her like that!

She was going to do such a half-assed job on the quick sealing final topcoat.

"Because you said so. You said that if Ritsu didn't want to be your boyfriend then you were going to confess to Sho. You told me a week ago when we all went out for ice-cream." Said Mob

"…..I told you that in confidence…" said Rei through gritted teeth. Screw the quick sealing top coat. She was not in the mood anymore. Lousy secret confessing friends…telling all her secrets…making her mutter in her head…..making her give herself a headache….

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize. You can tell one of my secrets to make us even." Said Mob

"You don't have any secrets." Said Rei

"I don't want to know any of your secrets!" said Serizawa shaking his head. He did not like keeping secrets. He was bad at it. So bad. The worst.

"Mob has secrets, all kinds of secrets, like the really bizarre dream she keeps having where her boyfr-" said Tome

"Not that secret!" said Mob. She was taking that to the grave with her. Nobody could ever know. She didn't even know why she told Tome. Master Reigen didn't even know about that and Master Reigen knew about the time she got her period at MobRonald's.

"I don't want to know any of Mob's secrets. It's not like she has any good ones, anyway." Said Rei. That was Mob. She was like a shrine maiden.

"I think my feet might be gross…if that's a good secret." Said Mob

"We'll be the judge of that." Said Tome

"You can all judge that on your own!" said Serizawa. He was not going to appraise the looks of little girls. That was all kinds of wrong. Each and every kind of wrong that there was.

"I'm sure your feet look fine." Grumbled Rei. She could not stay mad at Mob. It wasn't her fault that she was clueless…and also she saved everyone's life and stopped that crazy guy from taking over the world, too.

"I don't know if they do. I never really thought about it." Said Mob

"As long as they don't have the gross thick skin on them, yellow nails, or stuff growing on them then you're fine." Said Rei. Yeah, Mob didn't mean it. Friends did not fight, that was why they were friends.

"Gross." Said Mob sticking her tongue out a little.

"But we could all do with a little work. There's a difference between not looking gross and actually looking nice." Said Rei

"Which is why Rei is going to bring over all of her tools and pamper us!" said Tome. Rei could be a little overzealous but she knew her stuff…and also Tome spent all of her money on videogames and important UFO hunting paraphernalia…and also snacks…and a new case for her DS….the point was that she did not have money to have her feet properly looked at by a professional!

"I will if you guys want….lousy secret tellers." Said Rei because, well, she couldn't help it. Her friends were a bunch of lousy secret tellers.

"What?" asked Mob

"Nothing! Just, yeah, next time I'm here I'll do everyone's feet! Then we'll all look nice, not just acceptable.

"Wait….I don't follow." Said Serizawa. Something else that they were worried about. He had been working with nothing but girls long enough to know that there was no end to the things that they worried about. They worried about hair and makeup and clothes and skin….and he didn't know why. The girls were so adorable…and Miss Reigen was…she was…

The most beautiful woman they he had ever seen.

Not that he would ever tell her that. She might take it the wrong way.

"There is nothing more important than proper grooming. Remember that." Said Rei as seriously as she could. She held intense eye contact with Serizawa. The most intense.

"Ok." Said Serizawa scooting back a little. She looked like she was about to kill him….

"So take care of yourself or I will." Said Rei

"Yes Miss Kurosaki!" said Serizawa nodding as quickly as he could.

"Or Reigen won't ever want to go out with you." Said Rei. Serizawa stopped mid nod. What the…..?

What?

Just…what?

"Rei, Master Reigen would like him no matter how he looked. She cares more about what's inside of a person than on the outside." Said Mob

"What are you-" said Serizawa

"But it's important to maintain good grooming. That's why she wanted to cut his hair when he first got here." Said Rei

"Hang on-" said Serizawa

"Anyone who tells you that looks don't matter is a liar." Said Tome with a click of her tongue.

"Master Reigen isn't a liar…anymore…and she likes him for who he is. She loves him because of who he is, not what he looks like." Said Mob. She wondered if she said the wrong thing because Serizawa was staring at her…and his aura was staring at her….

"Did you say…." Said Serizawa. She…liked him? She….did she…

Just what?

"…..I'm glad to hear that! Now if you'll just follow me one of my assistants will-" said Reigen. She existed the curse removal room to find a room full of eyes on her, the stench of nail polish hanging in the air, and cotton balls all over the floor.

"Apparently open up a nail salon in my absence." Said Reigen said Reigen with a sigh. She left them alone for not even an hour and this was what they did….

"Sorry Master." Said Mob. Right. Work was for work related things…and she was the only other person being paid besides Serizawa so…yeah. She should have been more on task.

"It's fine….uh….hey, Serizawa." said Reigen. He snapped to attention at his desk. His face was red, very red. Why….she noticed his nails. Oh. He really had to work on saying no to the girls…and she had to talk to the girls about playing mad stylist with unwilling victims.

"Yes!" said Serizawa. She was so….beautiful. The way the light was hitting her…the way her hair was all tied back and he could see so much of her face…and she was smiling a little….

And she liked him.

Maybe.

Don't be stupid Katsuya.

But girls knew when other girls liked someone.

Don't be stupid Katsuya.

"Write the customer out a receipt for me, would you?" asked Reigen as she made her way back to her desk. She caught sight of her own nails. Hey, if the girls really wanted to play mad stylist…..

"S-sure!" said Serizawa. Before he could do anything Rei grabbed his wrist. She was…surprisingly strong.

"His nails are still wet." Said Rei, fire in his eyes.

"He has psychic powers." Said Reigen. The client would appreciate that, it added some legitimacy to what they did. Not that it hadn't been a legitimate massage. Ick. She was the one getting knots in her muscles now. She took off her suit coat and stretched in her chair with a groan.

It took Serizawa three tries to write out that receipt.


	14. To-Rei-Ge-Taki

Mob liked braiding her hair.

She didn't know when she started braiding her hair, when she stared wearing her hair in braids, anyway. She knew that she tried braiding it on her own when she was four and ended up making a big tangle, but she had no idea when the braids started. Maybe when she got home she could look through the photo albums and see just when mom started putting her hair up in braids.

Because it was easier to manage like that, mom said.

Mob agreed. She almost never wore her hair down because her powers always made her hair float, she didn't try to do it, it just happened. Braids made managing the entire thing just so much easier. She looked cute, too. Teru said. He liked her braids a lot…

Well he liked her quite a lot, he said.

Not enough to kiss her, apparently, but enough to sometimes play with her braids when they were all cuddly at his house watching movies. They'd lay down on the couch together, he'd lay down first and then she would lay down on what was left of the couch…then he would put an arm around her and put a leg over hers and rest his head on top of hers…and it was just so comfortable….and then he would just sort of reach over and play with her braid…

That was nice. She liked it quite a lot.

Maybe she and Teru could watch a movie later. Not today, though, because today was a work day. Rei and Tome were both going to be there, which was nice. Serizawa too, but he was always there. Mob didn't mind. He really did care about Master Reigen and she deserved to be happy. She would never, ever, replace Mob and if she and Serizawa did get married and have a baby Mob could help take care of it because it would probably be an esper baby and then her babies could be best friends with Master Reigen's babies!

But not now. She hadn't even kissed Teru yet, she could not be thinking about….not that she had been thinking about doing things like that! Not with him or anyone else!

Maybe she should just think about braiding her hair.

The wind was blowing really hard, had enough to undo her handiwork. The blue ribbon, school uniform blue, came off but she caught it with her powers. Now she just had to rebraid her hair. It was easier said than done, of course, because of the wind. She knew that she wasn't supposed to use her powers for mundane things but she really, really, really felt like putting up a barrier.

She looked around. Of course Master Reigen wasn't around, she was just being silly. Besides, Master Reigen never got mad, per say, about her using her powers for mundane things like braiding her hair or picking up spilled salt or making plants grow taller, but she still didn't ever want to disappoint Master Reigen. Ever.

Mob felt something against her aura. She saw a glint of something orange out the corner of her eye. Rei. Rei had an aura, sort of, but mostly just when she used her powers….or when she was excited about something. Both of those could be either good or bad depending on the mood Rei was in.

"Mob! Hang on!" said Rei as she ran over. Thank God crafting club was cancelled because of that bizarre splinter incident or she may have never been there to save Mob from her predicament…and she had been waiting a while to get her hands on Mob's hair. Long, soft, and pretty. There was just so much that Mob could do with it!

Darn. Rei had left her combination curling iron, straightening iron, and crimper with add on plates at home.

"Hi Rei…" said. She wasn't the best at reading people but she knew that face. That was the face that Rei made when she had ideas…

"You know, you don't have to braid it again. I could…well when we get to work I can fix it up. I don't have any of my tools but Reigen has a lot of stuff in her salon box. We can do Tome's hair too! Well it is kind of short…but not as short as Serizawa's! And he might even be overdue for a haircut….and Reigen usually just puts her hair up in a ponytail…." Said Rei as she held on Mob's hair. So many possibilities…endless possibilities!

"Um….that's ok. I like it in braids….and I could braid your hair too, if you want! When we get there, I mean." Said Mob because it was way too windy out to be doing anything…and it would be nice to braid Rei's hair. Nobody ever let her braid their hair for them…not even Master Reigen…

"Are you sure? Come on, Mob, your hair is so pretty!" said Rei

"Yours is too, that's why I want to braid it." Said Mob

"My hair sucks. It's all frizzy today because I was in a hurry. Well I was in a hurry because I didn't sleep enough but that's kind of my fault but not really because I found this new show and I kept on telling myself 'Rei, just one more episode before bed' but one turned into two and then three and then my mom, get this, she turned off the router because I was up too late! So then I got up late and I did my hair too fast and now it looks like this and it's just so…ick!" said Rei running her hands through the rat's nest that was her hair.

Mob thought that her hair looked just fine, but then again what did she know? Rei knew more about things like this than she did.

"What show?" asked Mob. Rei looked away really quick.

"….Maidens in Your Savage time….but don't tell anyone." Whispered Rei. Mob nodded.

"I won't. I'm sorry I said that you liked Sho. I didn't know that it was a secret. I mean you talk about him a lot…and Ritsu…" said Mob

"No, it's fine. I'm mature. I was just being immature then but I'm very mature….you didn't tell Sho, right? Or your brother?" asked Rei. Her eyes shifted back and forth. Mob wondered if it hurt.

"No. I haven't told them….but I think that Ritsu can tell. You kind of text him a lot…Sho can't, though, he just thinks that you want to be his friend." Said Mob

"He talks about me?" asked Rei, her eyes lighting up. This was great! Everyone knew that it was a very, very, very good sign when guys talked about you. Not that she was becoming one of those girls that was obsessed with guys. She cared about other things. She cared about…mature things! Like politics! And the economy! And…what else did mom and dad go on and on about? Oh! And the cost of living, too. She was very mature and cared about all kinds of mature stuff…and also guys.

"Yes. He said that you're very nice and stuff. He also says thank you for all the charms that you made him. Sho said that. Ritsu just says that you send too many texts one after the other and that you should just figure out everything that you want to say at once and send it…also he wants to know if you ever sleep because you text him kind of late." said Mob. Rei's eyes dimmed.

Darn.

Well whatever, you can't win them all.

Be mature, Rei!

"He doesn't dislike you, though! He said so. Well Sho asked Ritsu, I wasn't there but I could hear them talking, if he liked or disliked you and he said that he didn't dislike you…and don't be upset! He doesn't like any girl right now, he said, and he has lots of chances to like a girl because they keep on confessing to him." said Mob. That didn't seem like it helped much, actually.

"Maybe you can just look into the future and see who you end up with. I wouldn't mind it…that much…if you were Ritsu's girlfriend. You're my friend and I like you and if you married him then you and I could be sisters." Said Mob

"I tried that….I can't see a definitive future….but I do see a low probability….and I can't look far enough into the future to see who I marry or even if I get married." Said Rei

"Oh. How far into the future can you see?" asked Mob

"It's going to rain next week….and you're going to do very well on your history test…but very badly on your math test….and Reigen is going to rip her stocking again." said Rei

"That sounds about right, I think. Master always rips her stockings. I hope that doesn't happen to me when I grow up." Said Mob

"I'm just going to wear leggings, or tights, or just not be lazy and shave my legs. Stockings look like more trouble than they're worth." Said Rei

"They do. That's why I wear socks. High socks, I mean. I would always have to wear socks or my shoes would get ruined. Mom says that it's important to look neat and to take care of my things." Said Mob

"My mom does, too, but then she gets on me for wearing makeup and stuff. It's like, I'm not little anymore." Said Rei

"You're lucky. My mom says that I can't wear makeup until high school. She made me wash my face off when I came home from my date with Teru and she stood over me the whole time and told me that I was too young to wear makeup and stuff like that." Said Mob

"Your mom sounds like a total pain." Said Rei. If she had to deal with a mom like that she'd go totally crazy. Didn't Mob's mom know that middle school was the springtime of your youth or whatever? That these were the years to figure out who you were because if you didn't have it together by high school then you never would? Moms could be so ridiculous sometimes.

"She…sometimes she can be…but she just loves me, that's all, and she doesn't want me to grow up. At least that's how I see it. I heard her complaining to dad, once, that she had me and Ritsu too close to together and that at this rate we'd be out of the house and she'd be all alone." Said Mob. Mob didn't want to leave her mom all alone but she didn't want to grow old with her parents, either. That was so far away though, when she grew up, and she didn't know why mom was worried about it now. Mob wasn't. She had no idea, well besides the vague idea that she would go off to university…or maybe not go far away…..but she knew that she did not want to grow old with her parents.

"Moms are like that. It's like they want us to be babies forever. At least mine's not as bad as yours, no offense. I mean, yours won't let you wear makeup and she makes you braid you hair, too." Said Rei

"Oh no, I like my hair like this. I like braids…and I like braiding other people's hair, too." Said Mob

"…you can braid mine if you really want to, but not with your powers. You make the braids way too tight when you use your powers and I can't get them undone." Said Rei. She had let Mob braid her hair before and it took almost half an hour to get her hair undone.

"Ok, but not outside. It's too windy and it's hard to do it by hand out here. I might even accidentally braid our hair together." Said Mob. Rei's eyes lit up.

That wouldn't be very mature.

But it would be kind of cool…

Mob knew that look…Rei had an idea….

Reigen heard, rather than saw, her disciple come in.

"And they said that curly hair was an advanced course…" muttered Reigen as she ran a comb and scissors through Serizawa's hair. This was his idea, not hers, so she was not overstepping with him in the slightest. Not even if she was still in her yoga pants and tank top, and not even if he was just in his undershirt, and certainly not even if she was pressed against him a little too closely…..well the bathroom was small! She had an excuse!

"Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa. Right, he needed to pay attention! He needed to get out of his own head and pay attention to what she said…and not how close she was….he wasn't overstepping, right? She had offered, before, to cut his hair for him…did that make it standing offer? Or was he overstepping and she was uncomfortable and griping and-

"Nothing, nothing, just complaining about that stint I did in beauty school. Anyway, you're all done." Said Reigen. A pretty good job if she did say so herself.

"Hey! Seriously, guys?!" shouted Tome. She was supposed to be the receptionist until either Reigen finished up or Mob came in, one of the two. Well it sounded like the others were there, too. Reigen groaned. The work day had barely started and those little goofballs were already up to something.

"Oh! I think-" said Serizawa. He got up quickly, too quickly and bumped into Reigen. She lost her footing and, maybe, flailed a bit less than gracefully but he caught her.

He had very good reflexes…

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" said Serizawa. Oh no, he almost hurt her. Not even with his powers, which would have been worse but understandable, no he had to go and be clumsy. Now she was probably hurt and scared because she was small, so small, and she-

She put her hand on his arm.

"Hey, I'm fine. Accidents happen and this room was not built for two….I mean it's a bathroom, why would it be?" said Reigen. He was still holding onto her. One hand on her waist, the other at her arm. She still rested her hand on his arm…he was close…very close…

"Um….if it were a public bathroom….but this is an office so it would make sense that it's kind of…cramped in here…" said Serizawa. He wondered if that was a question that he was meant to answer. He felt like he had to say something, though, because otherwise it would be too quiet….

"Yeah, barely enough room for two…" said Reigen. How was he this strong? He was practically holding her and he didn't look the least bit tired. He wasn't using his powers, either, because she would have seen the purple…or felt it….

"Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa before he could think. He didn't know what he intended to say beyond her name. Well he wanted to know….if she liked him….not that he thought that she did! He was not going to take the girl's word for it, no, because they were in middle school. That would be like taking Sho's word for it, and he was not taking Sho's word for it….even though Sho could be kind of smart about somethings….not that Serizawa was taking romantic advice from a thirteen year old boy…or even asking for it.

Not that he was going to do a somersault, or a cartwheel, or a handstand even though Sho said that girls loved that kind of stuff.

Besides, she was a woman, not a girl. Who knew with women? They were complicated, all adults were. She was his boss, too, which meant that she was off limits. His therapist agreed. She said that what he was feeling could have been transference. He hadn't…he hadn't liked Suzuki like this….but he had cared more about Suzuki than anyone else in the world…and then he was just…gone. Well he went insane and tried to take over the world….and beat up his son and Miss Kageyama….Mob…and also tried to kill Miss Reigen…and Serizawa….

He didn't give a damn about Suzuki anymore.

He could be going through all kinds of cruel experiments right now, or even be rotting in the cold, cold, ground for all Serizawa cared.

But the way that he felt for her might have just been a transference of the feelings that he used to have. He felt that same sort of gratitude towards her….because she gave him a place in the world. A place to be…a purpose….and then his therapist said that because she was female his feelings moved further into the romantic than they ever would have with Suzuki….and also the sexual…

Not that he would ever!

Not that he even liked thinking about her like that! Women hated it when you thought about them like that! He had seen enough anime and read enough manga to know! And she was his boss, anyway! One did not have thoughts like that about their boss! And she would never reciprocate anyway…

She could have any man she wanted. Why would she want him?

"Serizawa?" asked Reigen. The way he said her name there….pleasant shivers down her spine. What was she even thinking? He did not need this from her! She was terrible, plain and simple. He was in such a vulnerable place and here she was doing…whatever this was. This moment. Were they having a moment? Was this a moment?

A bit part of her hoped that it was.

But a louder, smarter, functional part of her told her that she was reading into it too much.

She had been listening to the girls again. They….shipped…her and Serizawa. Teenage girls and their teenage ideas about what love and relationships were supposed to be. They were in for a rude awakening when they became adults and saw just how…messy…it all was. How complicated.

Because the situation would be complicated.

Easy and complicated.

If she were to lean up and kiss him….she needed to stop borrowing manga from Mob…then the entire thing would be complicated…a complicated mess. Messes were easy to make but hard to clean up…and Reigen had never been good at cleaning up after herself. She wanted him. She wanted…she wanted a lot from him…she wanted things that she had never given before…

Or had given to her…

And that was a lot.

And it would be a lot for him, too. Even the basest, most simple, most primal, things that she wanted…she assumed that he had never given before. Assumed. She wasn't going to just up and ask him because that was as far from appropriate office talk as one could get. That would be….it would all be a lot…

"Yes! Now we have reached our final form!" shouted Tome. Reigen and Serizawa broke apart quickly. Right. Work. Life. The world outside of that bathroom.

"Let's…um….I'm going to go see what they're up to out there." Said Reigen. She walked out of the room quickly, stumbling just a little. Right. Come on, Arataki, get it together. You are not in middle school, they are. They get to act recklessly, you do not.

Now go out there and be an adult.

And that was what she did. She did not balk once, not once, in the face of the childishness that awaited her.

"What in the world are you three-?" asked Reigen. They had braided their hair…together. Rei on one side, Tome on the other, and Mob in the middle.

"We are one entity. We are….To-Rei-Geko." They all said mostly at once. Then the giggling started. Reigen covered her mouth and laughed along with them, it really was adorable.

"Master, do you want to be a part of our hive mind?" asked Mob

"Yeah, then we can be….um…" said Rei as she began to think.

"To-Rei-Ge-Taki." Said Tome. They all nodded in agreement. It hurt, just a little, because Mob maybe have braided their hair just a little bit too tightly together. Just a little bit.

"No, that's ok. You guys just carry on with…that." Said Reigen. She picked her phone up off her desk and took a quick picture. Oh yeah, that was one for the wall.

"Please?" asked Mob in that way that Reigen could not say no to. She sighed and took her hair down. Mob's eyes, and aura, lit up.

"Ok, but not for long. This is a place of business not a place of…whatever this is." Said Reigen. If it made Mob happy…and Mob deserved to be happy. Besides, this was harmless. The harmless kind of immaturity. If she had to give into some kind of immaturity then it might as well be the harmless kind.

And not the kind that made her heart beat out of her chest and turned her inside to jelly.

Not that she felt like that when Serizawa finally got himself redressed and out of the bathroom…and just stared at her…and laughed.

No, she didn't feel like that at all.

But she did feel like maybe, just maybe, this hadn't been the best idea. Especially when they got a walk in client…and Mob had trouble unbraiding them….

Yeah, maybe not the best idea.


	15. Rei and Reigen

Rei didn't know why Reigen never asked her to wear the costume.

Really, Rei was much more accurate than the cards and tea leaves and candle wax and whatever else Reigen had in her bag of tricks. Rei could actually see the future. She should have been the one in the fortune teller costume. Even if it probably didn't fit her. Even if the color scheme was all wrong for her coloring. She still should have been the one in the costume.

"…so remember to smile and keep offering him tea when you make it. He'll come around." Said Reigen. Rei could have told the lady to keep being nice to that guy she liked without using her future vision. That was so obvious, like the most basic rule of getting someone to like you. Treat them really well and be useful to them.

Serizawa set a cup of tea down on Reigen's desk. There were two others there, too.

Tome had a point when she said that the two of them should just go to a love hotel already. They were so obviously perfect for each other. They were such opposites and opposites attracted after all. Reigen was loud and carefree and messy. Serizawa was neat and quiet and worried about everything. She'd help him come out of his shell and he'd help her be more…neat and quiet….Rei guessed. That was how it went in movies, anyway, and they hadn't steered her wrong yet.

She even had a date with Ritsu!

All she had to do was get low grades on her last two math tests and then complain about it a lot when they all got together. Now Ritsu was coming over to help her study. In her room. All alone. Well her parents and sister would be home, maybe her other sister would come down from university…but they would be more alone then they were when they all hung out as a group.

So that was a success!

"Are you sure? I've been doing that for a while now-" said the client. Rei could see Reigen's smile waver a little. She looked back down at the tea leaves in the client's cup and the flush of cards, Reigen called it a Celtic Cross, on the table. Reigen shouldn't have to waste two cups of tea and ten tarot cards to tell some lady that…

Rei's aura was visible for a moment.

"Your job is going to switch from green tea to oolong. He doesn't like oolong and he's going to talk to you about that. Then if you ask him out….there' a big chance that he'll say yes." said Rei. Reigen didn't look happy. That didn't make sense. There was only so much divination that could be done from cards and tea leaves and such. The client was happy. What else mattered?

Mob and Tome were on a snack run. They might have more insight because they, Mob especially, had known Reigen for longer.

Rei got the feeling, maybe, that she might have been in trouble. She could feel Reigen looking at her. She tried to busy herself making more charms, this batch was for crafting club, but she could still feel Reigen looking at her. Or maybe Serizawa. He was near her but he was doing his own thing. She didn't know what he was reading on his phone but it must have been important because he was taking notes intently.

"Hey Rei, you don't have to do that, you know?" said Reigen after a while

"I know, but I want to help. I mean, I can actually see the future and all. Not that the tuff you do isn't cool! It is but, like, I can actually see into the future." Said Rei with a shrug. That answer didn't seem to satisfy Reigen. She was still looking at her with an indecipherable look.

"It's not that I don't want you to, it's that you really don't have to. You can just hang out here, Rei, you don't have to do my job for me. I like having you guys around." Said Reigen. Rei wondered if Reigen just didn't want to have to pay her. That might have been it. The only person, non-adult person, who was paid was Mob and she only made three hundred yen an hour.

"I want to help, though, I mean if I have these powers then I should at least help people with them." Said Rei

"Trust me, you've helped us out more than enough." Said Reigen. Rei knew what she was talking about. She saw Serizawa sit up a little straighter in his chair. He knew what she was talking about, too. That day. That awful day when they tried to save the world but ended up in the middle of the fight between Mob and that crazy guy with the bad eyebrows…and everything was exploding…and there was dust everywhere….and the sky caught on fire…and all of those skyscrapers started floating….and they all made a human chain with her at the front because she was the only person who knew which was to go…because she could tell what would explode or catch fire or whatever…

That hadn't been a good day.

But it would never happen again.

And it wasn't like anybody…that they knew….got hurt. In fact after the big white light everyone was fine. All of their injuries were healed and they could all go home and go back to normal. Even before the white light she had been ok. Ritsu had kept her safe. Sho, too. They were much stronger than the others and had kept her safe when those mini bosses went after them.

Really, she was fine.

"I want to keep on helping out. I mean, I have the power to-" said Rei

"I am not using you. Ok? I am never doing that again." said Reigen in a tone that Rei had never heard before. Serizawa dropped his phone on his desk in alarm. Reigen took a deep breath and a sip of tea.

"I'm sorry if I-" said Rei

"No, it's not you. Just…I am not using anyone ever again. Ok? I am not that person anymore. I'm sure Mob told you…" said Reigen

"Mob told me." Said Rei. Rei had asked Mob, it felt like years ago, what happened with the whole thing with Reigen and the press conference and before that the salt splash meme thing. Mob told Rei that Reigen had lied, before, about having powers and that they had a great big fight about that. They were cool now, though.

"So…yeah. I'm not treating you like that. I'm not treating anyone like that ever again." said Reigen

"I just wanted to help, that's all. I mean…I just figured that it would have made more sense for me to wear the costume and tell people their future…since I can actually see the future. I didn't mean to-" said Rei

"It's more than just getting into this stupid outfit and reading some cards. You've got to tell people a combination of what they want to hear and what they need to hear. Sometimes you have to give hope to the hopeless and sometimes you have to get people off of their bullshit. Sorry." Said Reigen

"And sometimes you have to actually tell the future?" asked Rei. It wasn't all lies and talk. Reigen had books that she had read about all of this divination stuff.

"Sometimes you have to…interpret the future…based on what would be best for the person you're interpreting it for to hear." Said Reigen. Rei could understand that. She didn't like to tell people when she saw bad things on the horizon for them. She kept a lot of good things to herself, too, so that she wouldn't spoil the surprise for them. Like how Mob and her boyfriend were totally going to be together forever. Or how Tome was going to see aliens…or at least think that she was going to see aliens….

Sometimes you had to keep things to yourself. Sometimes you had to tell people what they needed to hear. It all made sense.

"I get it." Said Rei. Reigen nodded and then, to her surprise, got up from her desk and walked over. She took the scarf off of her head and tied it around Rei's.

"If you want to, though, you can help….but I'm paying you in experience!" said Reigen. Rei smiled.

That sounded pretty good.


	16. Sky Watching

Mob was getting the feeling that maybe this was not a good idea.

Tome had invited everyone out to go sky watching. Well everyone but Serizawa because this was also a sleepover and he was a boy so it would have been weird. Also because he was an adult. That was why Master Reigen always declined their sleepovers, too. Well she said that she got enough of them during the daytime but Mob knew that she didn't mean to be mean. She was an adult anyway and adults did adult things at night.

Like what was happening in the building across the street.

"I thought that we were going sky watching, Tome. Can't we do that at your house?" asked Rei as the wind blew her hair into her face. Mob was glad that she always wore her hair in braids, that way the wind wouldn't bother her. She put a barrier up around everyone, though, because it was really windy up there. They were on top of a building, some kind of hotel, and they had telescopes and binoculars. Tome said that they were going sky watching.

Though it was hard to see the sky past all of these tall buildings.

"Trust me, the view is much better from up here." Said Tome as she set up her telescope. Mob had flown them all up to this building. Tome said that she used to come up here a lot until they locked up the access stairwells….which meant that they weren't meant to be up there…

"Tome, isn't this trespassing?" asked Mob. She shouldn't have been so clueless. They were committing a crime and they'd get in trouble and then the police would call her mom and mom would ground her or take her phone away or something like that. Also she would have a criminal record, that would be bad, too.

"Mob, Mob, Mob, it's only trespassing if we get caught." Said Tome. That didn't make much sense to Mob. A crime was a crime, that was why it was still a crime even if nobody found out. If you could just commit crimes whenever you felt like it so long as you could hide the evidence….that would probably destroy the entire Japanese legal system.

"We aren't going to get caught, there's a very small chance of it." Said Rei, her aura visible for a moment. She had a pair of binoculars around her neck. Mob didn't think that she'd be able to see any aliens with those. Not that they had once seen any aliens on their sky watching adventures.

"….that's still a chance…" said Mob. She did not want to get in any kind of trouble. What would mom say? What would Master Reigen say? She always said that Mob just had to be a good person…and good people did not commit crimes.

"If somebody catches us up here we'll just pitch ourselves off the roof. You can catch us, right Mob?" asked Tome

"I could…I guess…but I don't want to." said Mob. It was cold and dark and she wanted to go to Tome's house and drink cocoa and watch movies and read art books which were really about boys kissing but it was drawings and not real photographs so that made it all artistic.

"You'd let us all fall to our deaths!?" asked Tome

"No, no, no! I meant that I didn't want us to have to jump off of the roof." Said Mob

"Yeah I'm not a big fan of that idea either. You know what we should do? We should go back to your house and maybe…invite-some-guys-over?" asked Rei. She said the last part really fast but Mob heard her.

"My mom says that I'm not allowed to have sleepovers with boys until I'm in university. That's why Sho's not allowed to hang out in my room when he comes over." Said Mob

"Sho hangs out in your room?" asked Rei, her eyes were kind of narrow and her voice sounded a little scary.

"To visit Ritsu, not me. They're best friends, they always hang out together. Sometimes he comes over when Ritsu isn't around and he used to hang out with me in my room but mom says no boys in my room ever. Oh, and one time he fell asleep in there so mom said that I couldn't have any sleepovers with boys until I'm in university." Said Mob

"That's all? I mean, not that I care. He can do whatever he wants, I don't care." Said Rei

"I thought you were after Mob's little brother." Said Tome

"I was but I don't think he likes me like that…or at all, really. When he came over to help me study that's all he did, study. We were all alone and all he wanted to do was help me with my math homework." Said Rei, her eyes downcast.

"Good. That's good. Ritsu isn't allowed to do…stuff." Said Mob. Nope. She did not want to hear about all the stuff that Rei wanted to do with Ritsu. Sometimes Mob thought that Rei wasn't in love or even like with Ritsu. Sometimes it seemed like all Rei wanted to do was kiss Ritsu…or Sho…or any boy, really. Mob didn't blame her, kissing seemed like it would be really nice.

Not that she would ever know.

"I didn't mean do…stuff! I just…you know what? You don't want to hear about me and your brother and I respect that." Said Rei

"Thank you for respecting that, Rei." Said Mob. She really did not want to hear about any girls liking Ritsu, especially not her friend. Ritsu was too little for girls and kissing and all the stuff that came after kissing. Much too little.

"Yeah, nobody wants to hear about how much you want Mob's little brother, and I am not having him over either. His friend maybe but not him." said Tome

"Because he's my brother?" asked Mob. She did not want to have a sleepover with her brother. She lived with Ritsu, and she loved him, but this was time with her friends….and anyway if they were inviting boys over even though they weren't allowed to she'd have invited Teru before she invited her little brother. Not that she and Teru would do anything…

So pretty much just like having a sleepover with her little brother.

"Because he's so…him. I mean you can't see it because you're his sister but beneath his cuteness there exists…him." said Tome. She said it low and dramatically. Mob didn't get. What was so bad about Ritsu? He said that he was done beating people up.

"Yes, there does…I mean there is…." Said Rei with a far off look in her eyes that Mob did not like at all.

"You guys are so weird sometimes, and this is weird, too. Tome, shouldn't that telescope be pointed towards the sky?" Said Mob

"Yeah, all we can see is that hotel." Said Rei

"You're all such children sometimes. Such sweet innocent children…." Said Tome clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

"I'm only two years younger than you." Said Rei

"And I'm only one year younger than you." Said Mob

"A year may as well be a lifetime, you two. Ah yes, I remember when I was your age. Those halcyon days…" said Tome

"What are halcyon days?" asked Rei

"Tome says halcyon days when she's going to talk about something dirty." Said Mob. She hoped that it was just manga, this time, and not weird internet videos….Mob had no idea that people could be so creative and she hadn't wanted to. Wouldn't it have been a better use of people's times to use that creativity to do something other than, well, that?

"Oh…did they publish another installment of Alpha/Beta/Omega?" asked Rei

"No! Well yes but I don't have it yet. Besides, this is a much better use of our time than spending the entre night crowded around some book. I mean, why buy an overpriced manga when real life is right there." said Tome pointing to the building across the way. The building was painted purple and made to look like a castle, complete with a draw bridge over a river. The sign said 'Purple Palace Hotel'…this whole street was hotels…

And there were a lot of couples going in and out….

Rei started laughing.

Mob wanted to pitch herself over the side of the building.

"Tome! We can't spy on people while they do…that!" said Mob. Nope. No way. Not ok. Not allowed. This was peeping and peeping was a crime, one worse than trespassing, and she would not be able to explain this to her parents and…and…and…

Rei was still laughing.

"This is serious! Seriously, this is serious, I've never brought anyone else up here. Well Inukawa, once, when we didn't have enough money for a room…but that was for a whole different reason." Said Tome. Rei was still laughing. Mob shook her head.

"Tome…I don't think that this is such a good idea. We shouldn't invade people's privacy by doing this. I mean…this is kind of a crime…and also if we get caught we could go to prison…" said Mob. If she went to prison then everyone would be so disappointed in her and mom would be mad and dad would be mad and she'd be setting a bad example for Ritsu and also Master Reigen would be mad at her and if she was in prison then she couldn't see her friends anymore and she couldn't spend time with Master Reigen anymore and then she would never, ever, ever be ok again because she loved her friends and Master and her job and she did not want to go to prison! Or see anyone naked! The only person she ever wanted to see naked was herself! Also Teru….maybe….not that anything like that would ever happen between the two of them…but she was not to hard up to kiss him that she was going to peep in windows and watch strangers kiss and do…things…things of an adult nature!

"…we won't get caught." Said Rei softly as she finished giggling. She was so red that Mob could see her blushing through her blush. Or was it rouge? What was the difference? Maybe they could all go back to Tome's house and put on makeup and watch movies and bake things and confess their deepest, darkest, secrets….anything but watching strangers have…that…adult thing…

"Rei! You too?" asked Mob. Well then she had to stay if both of her friends were staying. She had to be able to fly everyone to safety if they did decide to pitch themselves over the side of the building.

"I mean…nobody would know that we were up here…" said Rei

"We would know." Said Mob

"Mob…you're just so sweet and innocent. Ok, you stand guard, Mob." Said Tome. Mob was grateful that she didn't have to…watch…she'd rather stand there and watch out for people that would catch them all tell on them. So she did just that. She even had her back turned so that she wouldn't have any chance of seeing…anything.

She could still hear, though.

"Most of them have the curtains closed." Complained Rei

"Yeah, I guess they're worried about perverts or something. Not that we're perverts. No, we're just curious young girls in the spring of our youth." Said Tome

Mob may have been young and a girl and in the spring of her youth but she was not curious at all. No way. No way at all. She wasn't curious at all. Nope. Not at all.

"He's going to crush her into jelly…how do people get that fat?" asked Rei incredulously

"The real question is how he got someone as hot as her…though she might be a hooker." Said Tome. Mob shook her head. She did not want to know anything of what they were seeing…because that was wrong…and a crime…the worst kind of crime….because it was an invasion of privacy….and if her friends didn't need her to fly them to safety then she would have gone home and hid under her blankets until Monday happened….

"Hookers are real? I thought that…I mean, people really pay people to do…that?" asked Rei

"Oh yeah. This neighborhood is full of them. I would never, of course, because I have a boyfriend. Only total losers have to pay for it." Said Tome with a laugh. Rei giggled, too. Then they were quiet. The only sound was the wind hitting Mob's barrier. She turned slightly to the side, just slightly. She didn't want to see…anything. She was not curious. Not at all.

"Ok, you guys looked. Let's go home now. I'll get us some snacks on the way and then we can-" said Mob. Tome waved her hand dismissively.

"In a minute, Mob, we haven't even gotten to the good parts yet. I swear to God, why did everyone on tonight of all nights decide to close their curtains?" muttered Tome. Mob thought that they must have closed their curtains to keep people with telescopes and binoculars from looking in on them while they did…adult stuff…

"Maybe it's a sign that we should head back." Said Mob

"It's only been a couple minutes." Said Rei

"But what if…what if you guys see something…that you shouldn't?" said Mob

"That's the point." Said Tome

"I mean…isn't this kind of mean? I know that if I was in there with…well nobody would ever go there with me…but if I was with someone and someone else was watching us do…stuff….then I would be really embarrassed. This is kind of mean and we should just stop. We might end up seeing something that we shouldn't…or something." Said Mob. She was facing them, now, and she was determined to have them listen to her. Sometimes you had to be hard on people. She didn't want to be mean to her friends but this was just something that she had to do. They were going to get in trouble if they got caught and even if they didn't this was still a massive invasion of privacy.

"Mob, what do you think is the worst thing that we could possibly see right now?" asked Tome with her hands on her hips. Mob shrugged. She didn't know what the worst thing was but she couldn't think of anything good that could be seen by peeping in the windows of a love hotel in the middle of the evening, or maybe the end because the sun was almost all the way down, but either way if they wanted to watch people doing that so bad then they could watch an…art…movie together like they had that one time…not that Mob was jumping to relive that awkwardness…

"Reigen." Said Rei as she looked through her binoculars.

"Ok, that would be pretty bad. I mean, I like Reigen and I like Serizawa but I don't want to see the two of them getting it on." Said Tome

"That would be the worst thing, you're right Rei." Said Mob. Yes, that would be the worst thing ever to see. She did not want to ever see Master Reigen in that state of affair's…not that she did things like this. She didn't have a boyfriend, she hadn't confessed to Serizawa yet and he hadn't confessed to her, but when they did Mob knew that they would kiss and do the adult stuff that came afterwards…and she did not want to ever end up seeing that….

"No, I mean I see Reigen right now!" said Rei. She let her binoculars hit her chest as she pointed, frantically, to the love hotel across the street. Tome grabbed her telescope and began to frantically search the windows. Mob covered her eyes with her hands. She did not want to ever see that.

"Why are you still looking!?" asked Mob. She sounded like she was in pain. She was in pain. This whole thing was painful. How was she supposed to ever even be able to look at Master Reigen again knowing that she went to places like this and did…things…things of an adult nature…

"I have to see if it's really her….and it is…and that's not Serizawa…." said Tome. Mob shook her head and still covered her eyes. Well that was…worse? Somehow? She didn't know exactly what she was feeling at this moment but she knew that there was a fair amount of embarrassment mixed in there and she did not like it one bit.

"He'll be heartbroken." Gasped Rei

"They aren't going out. I asked Master Reigen and she said that he didn't need all of that right now…but we shouldn't tell him or anyone what we saw tonight…or I mean what you guys saw…" said Mob. She took her hands off of her eyes. Rei was nodding and had her back to the big, purple, love hotel. Tome was still looking through her telescope. She was turning a weird color, though, and Mob didn't know if that was good or bad. She was leaning towards bad. That was the same color that Mob turned when she was starting to get motion sick.

"…..Ok, Mob was right…when you stare into the abyss…it looks back…" said Tome softly as she back away from her telescope.

"…yeah…let's maybe go home. Mob was right…" said Rei. Mob knew that she shouldn't be as happy as she was, with her friends so clearly being deeply disturbed by what they had seen, but she was happy that she was finally being listened to.

"Yeah…let's go…AND NEVER SPEAK OF THIS AGAIN!" shouted Tome. She shouted so loudly and suddenly that Mob got, well, surprised. So surprised that she dropped her barrier suddenly. The force of the wind was, well, forceful and she quickly put it back. Too quickly, though, and much too forcefully. Forcefully enough that the building they were on shook, a little.

So there was nothing to do but fly home really fast, do normal sleepover stuff, and pretend that they had never seen/learned of what Master Reigen did on a Saturday night. It was just too weird, even for Mob who hadn't even seen anything. She had just…learned….something that she had never been aware of. Well she knew that Master Reigen was an adult and adults did that sort of thing….but she had never wanted confirmation that Master Reigen did that sort of thing. But now she had confirmation. Not as much confirmation as Rei and Tome had…but still confirmation…

But she was grateful that she didn't have confirmation that Master Reigen's hair was naturally that color…

That was certainly something to be grateful for. Yup. She didn't have to spend the rest of her life with that burned into her mind. By the time the weekend was over she thought, maybe, that things wouldn't be awkward. After all she hadn't seen anything and she could be mature when she wanted to be. Everyone, well all the adults, did that. Even her own parents….ick….did things like that. So really there was nothing to be embarrassed about and Monday would come and everything would normal. It would, it really would.

But it wouldn't.

And it wasn't.

When Monday came around Rei couldn't stop giggling, Tome couldn't stop making remarks that Mob thought had more than one meaning, and Mob couldn't even look in Master Reigen's general vicinity…and Master Reigen kept on asking why everyone was being so weird….and Mob couldn't answer….

Maybe Tuesday would be better.


	17. Food Hacks 1

The internet was a wondrous place!

In Rei's humble opinion, anyway. The internet was not only full of craft ideas and makeup tutorials and manga that was read purely for the literary value. The internet also had hacks. Makeup hacks, crafting hacks, and food hacks. How had she gone so long without the food hacks? Some of them were boring, like the one to make sure your rice never stuck to the bottom of the cooker again, but then again there were also interesting ones.

Like clear cola!

This was so cool! The cola really did turn clear! It was like lemon-lime cola but cola flavored. Also it tasted kind of like milk. Kind of like…orange fizzy milk cola. Not gross. Not…un drinkable. It tasted just fine and she did not waste a bottle of cola on this!

Even if her sister said so.

But what did Riko know? Nothing. Nothing at all. That was why her scores were so low and mom and dad argued all the time. This was cool and Rei had not spent her entire Saturday wasting food and trashing the kitchen. No. That was just mean sister talk. This was not a waste of cola and she could prove it! With a taste test! She'd give it to all of her friends, or maybe just her work friends because she did not want to spend a Sunday tracking people down, and then they'd love it and-

The future said that they'd hate it.

But then again the future was never one hundred percent.

And she couldn't see into the future with one hundred percent accuracy anyway. So really there was a chance that everyone would love and they'd say things like 'Rei, you didn't waste a whole lot of food and your entire weekend with this stuff' and 'Rei, you're awesome and you don't spend too much time on the internet' and other such good things.

Really. This would go well.

That was what she told herself on the way to Spirits and Such, anyway. She knew that Reigen would definitely be there, Serizawa would most likely be there, and also maybe Mob and Tome. Tome sometimes came by on a weekend if she wasn't doing anything else or sleeping until sunset and ruining her circadian rhythm. Mob was around a lot unless she had club stuff or family stuff going on. Rei couldn't blame her. If Ritsu were her brother…

Then Rei would be a weirdo.

So maybe not her brother. Not her blood brother, anyway. Did adoptive siblings count? In anime they didn't but real life was not anime...and she was a weirdo for even thinking like that. Not as big of a weirdo as some other people who were not to be named and also read weird manga all the time but said that the manga was literature. Which was crazy. Everyone knew that it stopped being literature when they stopped cutting away from the good part.

Not that Rei cared about stuff like that. She didn't. Not one bit. She cared about love and holding hands and stuff like that. Stuff that she was supposed to think about. Wholesome stuff. Good wholesome stuff that wholesome people thought about in the most wholesome way possible. Mob stuff. Yeah, there was nobody more wholesome than Mob. She didn't ever think about boys like…that. She never even thought about boys end of discussion. Just Teru and they had a wholesome relationship. He was very mature like that. He never even tried to kiss her or anything. Mature people were like that and Rei was a mature person so she didn't think about stuff that she shouldn't have thought about.

Also she didn't waste food.

And Riko was wrong for telling her that she was immature and wasteful and making mom kick her out of the kitchen just because she wasted, used, a whole bottle of the cola that she had no idea that Riko was saving. They were a family, there was no saving! It was every Kurosaki for themselves! She wondered if Mob ever had these problems. Probably not because she and Ritsu never fought about anything. Ritsu was so mature like that. He was so mature and grown up and brave and strong and he had saved her life so many times…

Ritsu was awesome.

But he was not who Rei was coming to see. Mainly because she had no real excuse to see him. He probably wouldn't think that her coming over with a bottle of milk cola and saying 'drink this' counted as a good reason. She needed a good reason. Maybe if she said that she needed more homework help…but then he might actually just spend the entire time doing homework again. She didn't get it. She sent out so many signals and he just wanted to do homework….if he wasn't interested he would have said something. Was he blind? Was she losing her touch? Had she even had one to begin with?

Or maybe all Kageyamas were just clueless. Mob could be really clueless sometimes. Not in a mean way, not at all, but she could be really clueless. Rei accepted that about Mob, especially if they were going to be sisters someday. They'd be sisters and be best friends and then they'd have daughters and their daughters would be best friends and Tome's daughters would be best friends with their daughters and then Reigen could be like their cool aunt since she was probably too old to have kids now so she'd be even older when Rei and Ritsu had their kids.

After Ritsu got established in whatever his career would be, of course. Rei would probably have to find a job too. She wanted to open up either a craft store or her own psychic business but like mom and dad said the cost of living, whatever that was, was super high so she'd probably have to have a job and then her children would grow up not knowing her or Ritsu and then their children would resent them forever and never call and other stuff like that!

She and Ritsu would work out these problems when they got married.

If they got married.

She couldn't see that far into the future. That sucked. What was the point of having future vision if you couldn't see years and years and years ahead into the future? She wished that she could do more…but not like how Mob could do more. That was too much. Mob had, like, all the powers and it hadn't done her any good. It actually made that boss guy try and kill her….that had been a bad day. For everyone. But it was over now and everything was ok and normal. Well as normal as things could be in a psychic consultation office.

"Hi Rei." Said Mob as Rei came through the door. This was a nice surprise. She hadn't expected anyone to come by. Tome was busy with Inukawa all weekend, she said, because both of her parents would be working nights and his parents would be working days. Rei usually did things with her other friends on the weekends. Not that Mob minded being alone in the office with Master Reigen and Serizawa. They were her friends, too.

"Mob, hey! Listen, I need you to drink this." said Rei as she thrust the bottle of clear cola at Mob. Mob put down what she had been doing, mostly just lifting things up and looking for where her hair ribbon had gone to, with a thud that made the floor bounce a little.

"Miss Kageyama! I mean, Mob! Are you ok?" asked Serizawa as he came rushing from the storage room. Miss Reigen had sent him looking for clean towels and massage oil. Saturdays were busy days for backrubs.

"I'm fine. I mean I'm still looking for my ribbon but I'm fine. Here, Rei says to drink this." said Mob as she called over two tea cups with her powers. Serizawa stared skeptically at the bottle before him.

"What is it?" asked Serizawa. It was…a liquid. Brownish in color…with flakes at the top…of something. The bottle was clear plastic and it looked like the label had been torn off.

"I don't know." Said Mob as she poured herself a cup of whatever this was. She knew that Rei would never try to poison her and she doubted that she could be poisoned anyway. She healed fast from most damage and one time when she was a baby she ate a detergent pod and nothing happened. Well mom and dad took her to the emergency room but the doctor said that she was perfectly fine.

"Just drink it and tell me if you like it." Said Rei. Mob drank her cup quickly. Serizawa still stared at his skeptically. He didn't want to hurt her feelings…but he had also been on the receiving end of this before. Last time someone told him to just eat something he ended up eating hamster food. Sho said that it was to settle an argument between him and Ritsu as to whether or not people could eat hamster food. It hadn't made him sick…but it hadn't tasted good either….

He decided to truth Miss Kurosaki on this. She was such a nice sweet girl. She wouldn't make him eat or drink anything gross, girls weren't like that. Not that he was an expert on them or anything but he knew that girls weren't really gross. They liked neatness and niceness and things that looked and tasted and smelled pleasant. Surely this couldn't be that bad…

It was.

And Mob agreed.

"Rei. This isn't good at all and you shouldn't give people this." said Mob. Sometimes you had to be hard on people. Rei was good at makeup and crafting and stuff like that but obviously cooking was not her thing. She needed Mob to tell her how terrible this was before someone else did and did it meanly.

"What….what is this even?" asked Serizawa. That tasted like….citrus? Fizzy citrus…and something else…well whatever it was it was not good. It was worse than the time back in his room when he tried drinking that bottle of juice that had rolled under his bed God knew when…the one that was carbonated…but hadn't started out carbonated…

"Clear cola." Said Rei

"But this didn't taste like lemon-lime…and that's the only clear flavor that I know." Said Mob

"There's also just lemon or just lime…it did taste kind of citrusy…but then why would it be so…brown?" asked Serizawa

"It's not brown! The milk took all the brown coloring away!" said Rei. Mob stared at her. She stared and she stared and she stared. Rei got a feeling like she was under a thousand microscopes. Mob's aura was visible a little…pink and blue.

Serizawa took a step back.

"There's milk in this?" asked Mob after a moment. Rei nodded slowly.

"Why did you do this to milk? It's done nothing to you." Said Mob

"The milk was supposed to take the brown coloring out by making it separate. You're supposed to just be left with clear cola." Said Rei. Mob looked…not pissed off but…like Rei had deeply offended her somehow….

"Who told you to do that to milk?" asked Mob

"Miss Kageyama….are you alright?" asked Serizawa. He could see her aura clear as day and she was not happy. He knew that she liked milk and all but…well she was a very serious person when she needed to be…

"It was a food hack…that I saw on Youtube…." Said Rei as she shrank under Mob's gaze. Mob nodded. A door could be heard opened and closing, followed by footsteps.

"And if you'll just head into the next room my assistant will write you up a receipt." Said Reigen. Serizawa jumped at the chance to get out of whatever battle it was that he could see brewing there.

"Hey Mob, who spat in your ramen?" asked Reigen as she pulled her suit coat back on. She knew that look. That was Mob's serious look. Not her 'save the world' serious look but instead her 'this is a big thing only for me' look that Reigen had seen a couple times before. The most recent of these occurrences being when she said that she would rather have an office dog than an office cat.

"Look what Rei did to milk." Said Mob simply. Rei smiled, weakly, over at Reigen as the bottle of what was, apparently, a serious crime against dairy floated across the room much to the amazement of the client. Reigen snatched it out of the air, opened it up, and smelled it.

"This…this is not good." Said Reigen. That was…milk and cola? Why? Who in their right mind would dilute cola with so much milk…not even dilute…there were flecks of something….did the syrup separate?

"I-I'm sorry. I did a bunch of food hacks from Youtube today and I didn't mean to-" said Rei

"Mob, I know you love milk but come off it. Rei…don't believe everything you see on the internet." Said Reigen as she capped the bottle and tossed it in the garbage. Such a waste of perfectly good cola. Well better she just mix it with milk rather than, well, with Reigen was mixing cola with when she was thirteen.

Though maybe she shouldn't have mixed her mom's wedding sake with discount store cola…but that had been a very fun night…the parts that she could remember that didn't involve her throwing up out her bedroom window…

"Rei…please don't ever do that to milk again." said Mob. That milk could have been drank…by her…or whoever. Now it was wasted…and Mob was craving milk, too.

"I won't….and I had no idea that you felt so strongly about milk." Said Rei. She had no idea that anybody in the whole world felt as strongly about milk, or at least wasting it, as Mob did. Maybe that was just part of being mature or something. Mob was super mature and all. Or maybe Rei was just super immature. Or maybe the internet was just full of lies.

"I didn't know that anybody felt that strongly about milk…" said Serizawa

"Mob loves milk." Said Reigen shaking her head. Thank God that they were still such kids. She didn't know if she could handle it if she had three little Arataki's looking up to her. The day would come when they had bigger problems than bad internet advice to worry about but hopefully that day would come later, much later. They were still such kids.

"They have other milk hacks! I mean, not mixing them with cola but there are others. If you ever want to do some hacks with me." Said Rei because, yes, that would be fun. Even if Mob could be super intense sometimes it would be fun to just…maybe…head on over to Mob's house and mess around in her kitchen. If Mob wanted to. She was mature, very mature, but she was older too and a Kageyama and maybe everyone in her family was mature. Either way it would be a fun day…and if she were to run into Mob's little brother well that would be just fine…

And it was just fine.

Reigen let Mob head out early to spend some time with her friend, as she had said. Rei thought that she just wanted to spend some time with Serizawa. Not that she would say anything like that. These things needed to happen organically, or so the internet said. You couldn't force love to happen, it had to grow like a tumor. Slowly and insidiously until you suddenly had a big old lump of love growing in you and…or maybe not like a tumor. Something else inside of you that grew. Well whatever it was it needed to grow. Like a flower. Yes, that was much better.

Or like a friendship. The kind that grew over bottles of milk in a kitchen under the disapproving gaze of Mob's mom on a Saturday. That had stared growing even before that, back when the world stopped making sense and death was coming close, so close, but not close enough to take you. Or even before that when they first met…and had been kidnapped…ok, yeah, they'd been through some stuff. Shared experiences and traumas helped their friendship grow.

If only she knew how to make other sorts of relationships grow.

But the internet would know. It was a wondrous place after all…even if it did occasionally give some terrible advice.


	18. Friday Night

They called this a whiskey sour?

Reigen stared down at her drink. Weak. Very weak. Hotel weak, which made no real sense. If anything the hotel should have been on point about this stuff. Drunk people made poor choices like going up to hotel rooms with total strangers on a Friday night. Sober people made poor choices like that, too. Reigen was somewhere in between.

She didn't even know if she was planning on making any poor choices that night.

She checked her phone. The guy said that he was ten minutes away. Of course he had said that he was ten minutes away before, too. That had been twenty minutes ago. Reigen didn't get it. Why swipe right if you weren't planning on showing up? Men. Well whatever. This was still a nice place and she was still glad to have something to do on a Friday night besides go home and eat cup noodle in front of the TV while she may or may not have been also texting her only adult friend…

She was such a kid when it came to him.

But she was not a kid now. She was out and about doing adult things in the adult world. She wondered what the kids were up to. Tome she knew for a fact was having a weekend long gaming binge in Fantasy Hell with her friends. She had thanked Reigen for exorcising the player killer spirit, a rare show of genuine thanks from the little firecracker. The other two…Reigen wasn't sure. If she had to guess Rei was probably doing more of her crafts. She had found a new channel on Youtube and was doing all kinds of weird stuff with food…some of it was cool like the clear cola thing…but it was still a colossal waste of food….like the clear cola thing. Sure you got the syrup to separate but at what cost? Mob looked like she had been about to have a break down…Mob and milk. What was Mob up to right now? Drinking a cool glass of milk in front of the TV? No, wait, she had plans tonight. She hadn't even had to tell Reigen, judging by the body spray bath she took it was obvious.

Mob was growing up. Good for her.

Hopefully not all at once, though. Mob still had a lot of years of being a kid to her, all the kids did. Maybe in like ten years they could all go out together as friends…yeah. That would be nice. But not now. All of her friends, her same gendered friends, were teenage girls. What did that say about her? Maybe she was some sort of bizarre woman child like her mother kept on saying. Maybe she was a textbook case of arrested development. Maybe she had mother issues. Maybe she had daddy issues. Maybe she had commitment issues. Maybe she had intimacy issues. Maybe she had all the issues and she should just learn to drink them all away.

"Give me your finest bottle of mock champagne in your fanciest glass." Oh. It sounded like the staff had their own problems. If Reigen were drunker she would have said something about how they shouldn't mock the customer like that. But she was not so drunk yet.

"That damned kid again?" asked the bartender as he reached under the bar and pulled out a bottle of sparkling apple juice. There was a layer of dust on it. Reigen wondered what the health code had to say about that.

"That damned kid again. Same girl this time, too. Guess she hasn't given it up yet." Said the waiter. Reigen frowned. That was no way to talk about anybody. The nerve of some people. That was cute. A couple of kids out on a date…at a fancy hotel…on a Friday night. Well it was still cute. Wait…could kids rent rooms? Because then it would not be cute at all. Also what kind of kid had the money to come here, anyway?

"Maybe I should just accidentally give you a real bottle, just to get that little asshole out of here faster." Said the bartender. The waiter laughed. Reigen downed her drink in one gulp. Well someone was getting a one star yelp review.

"Whatever gets him out of here fastest. I swear to God that little half bastard drives me insane every time he comes in. like his next move is going to be to snap his fingers and tell me to 'park the desert cart under the lady's nose' or some shit. I am not bringing the little bastard literally one of everything again. Let someone else do it this time. Foreigners….I swear to God…" said the waiter. Reigen slammed her glass down with more force than was necessary.

"You know maybe you ought to do more serving and less bitching. Just a thought. Here comes another, badmouthing the customers? Bad move buddy." Said Reigen. Ok, maybe that drink was a little stronger than she had thought it was. Whatever.

"Lady, why don't you just mind your own business?" asked the bartender. Reigen shook her head.

"Nah, I don't think so. I mean it's hard when you're blasting your business to the entire goddamned bar." Said Reigen

"I don't know who you think you are-" said the waiter. The bartender was doing the universal motion for 'shut your mouth' but the waiter wasn't listening.

"Reigen Arataki, prolific Yelp reviewer. Feel free to Google me." Said Reigen holding up her phone. The bartender made a noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a yelp. Heh. Maybe that was why they called it Yelp.

"Ma'am I'm so sorry about this. Please accept a free meal as a token of our sincerest apologies." Said the bartender. His eyes kept ping-ponging off to the side over and over again. Reigen followed them to a serious looking man in a serious looking suit with a very serious look on his face.

Reigen knew that she should just cut her losses and move on but…free dinner. She could not pass up free food.

She was sat in a section away from Mr. Grumbles about Doing his Job. Thank goodness for the small mercies of life. Reigen even got free drinks out of it. This almost made up for the fact that it was looking more and more like she was being stood up. Whatever. She didn't much care about the guy. She just sort of wanted something to do. Something besides sitting at home and eating cup noodle and texting all night like she was in high school again. She was out. That was something. Out. Out was what everyone strived for on a Friday night, wasn't it?

Out was better than in.

Even if she was eating all alone in a sea of couples…on a Friday night…all dressed up.

She wondered what the kids were up to. God, she needed some friends who weren't in middle school…or Serizawa. She wondered what he was up to. He has talked at length about some new model that was coming out. A plastic model from some game he liked. He liked a lot of games, actually. Heh. Maybe one of these days she should just offer to come over and play with him. Videogames, she meant. So long as she was acting like a teenager….he made her act like such a teenager sometimes.

"And why don't you park the desert cart under the lady's nose, hmm?" she knew that voice. Reigen looked up from her drink and saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye. Blond.

"Teru, be nice." She knew that voice, too. Reigen stood up. There, across the restaurant. Mob and Haystack. Reigen wanted to take a picture. They were just so damned cute! Mob was there in her school uniform and Haystack was dressed in…something that might have passed as a suit…if not for the riot of color. She wondered if the kid was colorblind or something. It would make sense.

She didn't ask though. She sat back down quickly. She and Mob had already fought, before, about Reigen taking up too much of her time. Besides, Reigen figured that Mob wanted her privacy when she was alone with her sort of boyfriend. Sort of being the operative phrase. Mob had certainly grumbled enough about the lack of…well physicality….in their relationship. Not that Reigen was complaining about all of that.

Mob was getting older but she still had a while before…all of this.

Reigen's phone vibrated. She knitted her eyebrows together in frustration. The guy wanted a rain check. Yeah, sure. Three weeks from never. Reigen didn't know why she even cared. She didn't much like the guy. Sure he was funny over text but there was no pretending that the two of them weren't after the same thing. Whatever. Plenty of guys out there. Plenty of fish in the sea and she had some damn good bait. Yeah, catching fish was easy.

Getting them to stick around was something else entirely.

Not that Reigen cared. Whatever, it was whatever. She wasn't looking to settle down or get married or start a family. She was young and free and she liked being young and free and she would, of course, make the most of freedom and of pleasure. Nothing ever lasted forever but…but she would make the most of her youth. She didn't care if she had been stood up. Whatever. One fish in a sea of fish. She was young and attractive. She could get whatever men she wanted. Better men than that. She was young and she knew what she wanted and she was going to go for it and not let anything, even rejection, set her back. She hadn't even been rejected. That guy was just lazy. Lazy and…and an asshole. A lazy asshole. He just didn't want to bother leaving his house for…not even for no strings attached sex.

Reigen checked her reflection in her phone.

She was young, she was pretty, and she was half…but that didn't matter. If that mattered to a guy then that was not the sort of guy she wanted to associate with. Whatever. Most guys weren't going to settle down with, or even bother to go on a date with, someone like her. Whatever. She was young and pretty and she wasn't looking for any kind of commitment anyway. She was only young once so she had might as well make the most of it. She had better make the most of the spring of her youth, or the summer of it, because otherwise she'd have all sorts of regrets. She had to make the most of these years before they slipped away and she was left with nothing but regrets. Heh.

Mob was rubbing off on her.

Better than the other way around.

Reigen got up under the pretext of going to the bathroom. She passed by Mob's table and slowed down just a bit. Just to see what was up. Just to make sure that Mob was ok. She had a table pulled up next to her covered in deserts. Haystack had the bloodiest steak that she had ever seen. There was a bottle of sparkling apple juice sitting in a bucket of ice on the other side of them.

"I like you a lot, Teru, but I just…you never kiss me." Reigen had to strain to hear Mob speak. Oh. It was one of 'those' conversations. Reigen knew that she should stop eavesdropping like a creeper and just go into the bathroom already. She was tucked halfway behind the decorative awning. An ancient payphone blocked Mob's view of her, if Mob ever felt like turning her head, which it looked like she didn't. She and Haystack were in the middle of what sounded like a conversation that had been a long time coming.

On the one hand Reigen was grateful that Mob was becoming more outspoken.

On the other hand she was too young to be kissing anyone.

Well that last part was not at all true. She was fourteen. Reigen had been doing everything, and she meant everything, back when she was fourteen. The thought of Mob doing even a millionth of the things she did sent her into heart palpitations.

"I-I would never make you do anything that you weren't comfortable doing. I just…I want it to be good for you. You're…you mean a lot to me and I just want it to be…perfect." Haystack downed his sparkling juice like it actually was champagne. It was so adorable.

"If you don't want to kiss me I understand, Teru. You don't have to make up lies. You can kiss whoever you want to-" said Mob

"I don't want to kiss anyone but you! I'm…I'm done being that guy. I'm not that guy. I just…what we have is about more than that. Much more. I haven't tried anything with you because I care about you. I would never put pressure on you to do anything, you're not that kind of girl." said Haystack. Reigen shook her head. Well now that was just overcorrecting. Mob said that Haystack had been around the block a few times, a few more times than any fourteen year old boy should have, and obviously he was trying to compensate by not doing anything at all.

"Teru, if you want to be with the kind of girl that never wants to kiss then…then I don't think that I'm the kind of girl for you. I'm sorry but I really like you and I just…I think about you a lot. I think about being with you and holding hands with you and kissing you and…and if you want to be with the sort of girl that doesn't want those things then…then I guess that I'm not that kind of girl." Said Mob. Reigen was damn proud of her in that moment. That was the most adult thing that Mob had ever said. There was nothing wrong with wanting what she wanted and there was nothing wrong with making what she wanted known. Good on Mob for being so forward with what she wanted…even if it could have come at the expense of her relationship.

"No! That's not what I meant…I meant that I didn't want to make you do anything that you didn't want to do. There's…Shigeko there's more to this than just me wanting to kiss you. I care about you. You saved my life…and you saw that there was something good in me…and I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you because I have actual feelings for you…and I've never wanted this with someone before…an actual relationship I mean…and I don't want to fuck it up…sorry." Said Haystack looking every bit like he was about to keel over. Reigen wanted to go over there and shake him until he didn't know what was what. The poor kid was overthinking this so badly…they were fourteen! When had relationships become this complicated?

Or maybe they had always been that complicated. Reigen wouldn't have known.

"Teru I don't want to mess it up either…and I don't want to push you into doing-" said Mob

"I want to. If you're ok with this, I mean really ok with it not just trying to give me what I want, then…I want to kiss you." Haystack looked like he was about two seconds from keeling over. Mob looked like she had just won the lottery. Everything not bolted down on their table, and the tables around them began to float. Reigen could feel the ends of her hair being tugged upwards and she took that as her cue to skedaddle before Mob noticed her and the moment was ruined.

Mob was having a nice night. Good. At least one of them was.

The drinks were weak, the food was lousy and overcooked, and the bathroom had been out of paper towels. Reigen could not wait to get home, kick off these torture devices they called shoes, and binge some bad TV before bed. At least she hadn't had to pay for that little night out…though she would advise Mob to change date spots in the future. Somehow. Without telling her that they had passed each other like two ships in the night.

Twice that night.

As Reigen rounded the corner on her way to the train station she passed a closed shop front. That wasn't anything to gawk at, plenty of places closed this early. What there was to gawk at was Mob. And Haystack. Together. Kissing. Like a couple of middle schoolers…which they were. Chastely. Thank God because otherwise Reigen would have had to consult a cardiologist…or a mortician.

Thank God both of their eyes were closed. Eyes crewed shut. Hands touching only each other's hands. Good. She wasn't going to have to teach Mob…and probably the other two…the facts of life anytime soon. Not that she wanted to but, well, it was better than having to open a daycare center sometime in the near future. Mob was getting older but she was still young, much too young. Much too young for closed eyed closed mouthed kisses in the shadows of closed specialty candy shops. Much too young.

Too young for opened eyed kisses, too.

Their eyes met.

Mob jumped back.

"Master!" she squeaked. She quickly put her hands behind her back as though she had been doing something wrong. Heh. Caught red handed.

"Miss Reigen! Um…a pleasure to see you, you're looking lovely this evening. I love the way that…dress…compliments your eyes. Sapphire certainly does you justice, though something a bit lighter would do as well, though not for evening wear unless one wanted to be bold, which of course would work for you-." Said Haystack looking everywhere but at Mob. Reigen wondered if it was healthy for a human being to turn that color. She didn't ask though.

Because this was certainly awkward.

Reigen made a split second decision. This was awkward enough as it was and every second that she spent there just compounded the awkwardness like the interest on her charge cards. This awkwardness would most likely carry on for the rest of her and Mob's lives based on current projections. So really she had to find an out for the both of them-

"Is that you Mob? I'm sorry, I'm drunk. I'm so very drunk that I don't even know what day it is let alone what's happening right now. Are we on a job? What's Haystack doing here? What street is this?" asked Reigen slurring and rocking back and forth. She felt something cradling her. Mob's powers. Maybe she was setting a bad example…but then again a bad example was better than a lifetime of awkwardness.

"Master it's Friday, we aren't on a job, Teru is here for…reasons…and we're on Lower Sodium Street…are you going to be ok? Should I call an ambulance?" asked Mob. She ran over and tried to steady Reigen by hand. Reigen decided to tone it down a little before she ended up with a stressed out student and an unnecessary hospital bill.

"Mob, I'm fine. I'm just heading home-" said Reigen

"I'll carry you! They told us at school that drinking too much could lead to cancer, heart disease, liver failure, kidney failure, cirrhosis, brain damage, high blood pressure-" said Mob looking more and more panicked by the second. Her hair was standing straight up and an electrical charge could be felt in the air. Ok, time to deescalate.

"I'll carry her, don't worry." Said Haystack ever the gentleman. Reigen straightened herself out quickly. Right. She meant to make this less awkward for Mob, not end up making these two think she was dying. Also how could the schools be such scaremongers? That was only going to backfire spectacularly when the kids realized that one drink would not send them to their graves. At least it backfired for Reigen when she was young.

"I don't need to be carried, really. I'm fine. Sobering up as we speak. You two just…relax. I'm an adult I can handle myself. Really." Said Reigen trying her best to get them to listen.

They did not.

But she managed to talk them down to calling her a cab home. Honestly the cab was for the best. Her feet really were killing her. She'd have to toss her shoes when she got home. They might have been on sale but they hurt in every single way imaginable. She hadn't intended to spend quite so much time on her feet that night…heh. But she had. The night had been a near total bust but at least Mob made out pretty well. Heh.

She was funny in her own thoughts.

Her phone vibrated as the cab pulled up to her building. A text from Mob asking if she was fine. Apparently Google Maps said that her trip should have ended two minutes ago and Mob was concerned. Reigen went up to her door and took a picture of herself standing in front of it so Mob would stop worrying herself into an early grave. Kid had enough to deal with…

Her phone vibrated again. Not Mob this time, Serizawa. He sent her a picture of a plastic model. A giant robot with a big gun and a girl sitting on its shoulder. She smiled. He worked fast, it seemed. He had even painted it…

She'd tell him that it looked cool after she sent Mob the 'I'm safe stop panicking' selfie. Well she had meant to send it to Mob. She wasn't drunk, nowhere near it, but she wasn't sober either. She had forgotten who, exactly, she had been messaging.

And there was no way to take back a message. Like words, spoken words, once the message was out there then it was out there. She began several apologies, excuses, and even floated the idea of pretending that she was drunk again when three little dots appeared next to his name.

Then three words.

"_You look pretty."_

She didn't know why but she clutched her phone to her chest and slumped against her door until she had sank to the ground. She had been called pretty before, been called a lot of things before, but three simple words from him and she turned to jelly. Really. She was much too old for this. She pulled herself together enough to let Mob know that she was fine and then she just sort of…sat there. He messaged her again asking why she was all dressed up, if she was going out, and other such things. She answered his questions as best as she could. Her mind was elsewhere, on those three simple words.

You look pretty.

Maybe this night hadn't been such a bust after all.


	19. Smoking

Sometimes Tome had terrible ideas.

In Mob's opinion anyway, not that she would ever say that to Tome out loud or anything. A person did not talk to their friend like that, it was mean, even if their friend did sometimes have terrible or dangerous ideas. Like this. This was a terrible, dangerous idea.

"Hey Mob, you're pyrokinetic right?" asked Tome as she held her pilfered prize in her hands. This wasn't stealing, this was just borrowing without asking but at some point planning on returning. At some point, just not now.

"Yes…but I don't like to do that….because fire is dangerous." Said Mob. She did not want to do this, any of this, because it was not at all a good idea. Not just the fire part.

"We should go back before Reigen notices." Said Rei. There was a small chance that Reigen would notice…but a bigger chance that she would find out…and then be mad at them. Maybe mad for real. The future wasn't super clear or one hundred percent.

"Rei's right, this is a bad idea." Said Mob

"Mob, you're too cautious! Live a little!" said Tome. Mob was so glad that she had a friend like Tome to guide her. Really this was an important milestone in life. She didn't know when she'd get a chance like this again. Reigen was usually very protective of her cigarette case and it was by a stroke of blind luck that it had fallen out of her suit coat pocket and she didn't notice.

"….I think that this is a bad idea, though, I mean this is stealing…and also we're too young to smoke." Said Mob

"Yeah, Reigen isn't going to be happy when she finds out…also I'm not really sure if I'm ready to become a smoker." Said Rei

"Master Reigen does always say that we should never start smoking." Said Mob. Master Reigen had said that years ago when Mob asked her why she smoked. She just said that she started when she was fourteen to have something to do with her hands and there she was fourteen years later still going at it.

"Yeah, she said that once you start smoking you can never, ever, stop." Said Rei. Reigen said that when Rei asked what all the smoking was about. She said that cigarettes got a death grip on you and they never, ever, ever let you go.

"Also you can get really sick from smoking." Said Mob. They had gone over that in health class in middle school just like they had in elementary school, too. Why would school lie to her? What would they have to gain?

"I don't want to get cancer." Said Rei. That was what the box said, what all the boxes said. Rei didn't smoke and nobody in her family did but she had seen Reigen smoking and the cigarette box said in big red letters 'can cause cancer' which was very scary….and all of the boxes said that. At the convenience store every single box they sold warned that cigarettes caused cancer.

"Mob, didn't you say that you survived your entire body getting blown up?" asked Tome. Mob worried about the weirdest things sometimes. If Tome were invulnerable to all forms of damage she'd smoke and drink and stuff like that all the time. Superpowers were wasted on Mob, totally wasted.

"Yes but that was more like being disintegrated. It was like my body just sort of fell apart…" said Mob. She closed her eyes. Right. She was here and not there. She didn't much like thinking about that day but sometimes the thoughts just snuck up on her…and she didn't know why. She had won…sort of. Well she hadn't lost and the world was saved and she had no reason to keep going over and over and over what happened. Nobody died, not for long, and that was the important part.

"There. You lived through that and you'll live through this. Honestly, the both of you are such children sometimes." Said Tome

"I am not!" said Rei stomping her foot. She quickly tucked one leg behind the other. Right. She was thirteen now, she was mature, and mature people did not act like kids. That was the definition of being mature, not being kid, and acting not at all childish in any way.

"Technically we're all adolescents." Said Mob helpfully. Well she had been trying to be helpful at least. Judging by the face that Tome was making Mob had not been helpful at all.

"I mean, if you're too scared to pass this milestone with me I understand…" said Tome with a shrug. She watched Mob's expression, or lack thereof. She was thinking, Tome knew Mob's thinking face well. Honestly Mob was such a rule follower, she could totally see how Ritsu was her brother. Mob was so lucky that she had someone like Tome to get her out of that terrible, self-destructive, mindset. Nothing good ever came to those who always followed the rules.

"I'm not scared, I just don't want to get in trouble or upset Master Reigen." Said Mob. Stealing was wrong and that was the end of it. Also cigarettes were bad for you….and also kids were not allowed to smoke. They were still kids…not little kids but kids…and they could get in trouble if they got caught. They weren't even well hidden, just in the alley behind the building. Master Reigen could easily come outside and see them. She might even go looking for them. They had been gone for a while and they hadn't even gotten the snacks yet.

"Yeah…I'm not scared or anything like that. The thing is that…um…Reigen might just get really mad at us when she realizes that her cigarettes are missing. That's all." Said Rei. Reigen was really nice for an adult and she did not want to make her mad. Rei liked having some place to hang out after school sometimes where she could just relax and do crafts and talk and stuff. Better than crafting club anyway…stuck up bitches wouldn't know skill if it walked up and introduced itself.

"If or when?" asked Tome

"Huh?" asked Rei with a series of blinks that would have been at home in an anime.

"You can see the future. Is that an 'if' thing or a 'when' thing?" asked Tome pointing at Rei. Rei took a deep breath and looked into the future.

"Um….it's an…if….I mean there's a small chance that we get away with this…." said Rei as her aura shone brightly. There was a miniscule chance that they didn't get found out…not good odds at all.

"I like those odds." Said Tome with her best encouraging smile. Mob just stared at her. Rei was playing with her uniform skirt and digging the toe of her shoe into the ground.

"But what if…um…the case is made out of radium so what if we get radiation poisoning or something?" asked Rei. She didn't know what she wanted to do. She had been warned about smoking and drinking and all of that other adult stuff for her entire life. That stuff was for adults, not kids, but she wasn't a kid anymore. She was thirteen now and she was not a child anymore.

"I've heard that can happen." Said Mob. She wondered if she could die of radiation. She wondered if she could die at all. She had died…sort of…but she was fine now. So maybe this would be ok…but they were stealing from Master Reigen…and that was wrong….even if they weren't going to get caught it was wrong…but she also wondered what it was like. Mom and dad smoked sometimes, dad more than mom, but neither of her parents smoked as much as Master Reigen did. Mob had always wondered what it was like. It must have been good if Master Reigen kept on doing it. She had been smoking since she was fourteen she said once when Mob asked…

"First of all we're not going to be eating the stuff! Second of all Mob's indestructible! And third of all you guys already have super powers so you don't need to worry!" said Tome. All of her friends, her female friends, were too damned young. It was such a burden being the oldest, sometimes. If it were up to Mob and Rei they'd all be playing dolls together at the playground or something.

"Well…I mean if we'll be ok…" said Rei. She was not a child. Just because she was the youngest and she hadn't done any of the stuff everyone else had did not mean that she was a child. She was thirteen, not three, and she was not afraid either. Nope. She could see into the future and she knew that she wouldn't…actually she couldn't see if she died of cancer from smoking this one cigarette because it was too far away…but it must have taken more than one. Right?

"We'll be fine. One cigarette is not going to kill us or turn us into smokers." Said Tome with a dismissive wave of her hand. She was sure that it had to take more than one. Right? Well she'd find out. She had always been curious and now she'd know. She wouldn't become a smoker, not a chain smoker, maybe a social smoker…not that she had ready access to cigarettes or anything…and she had better put this somewhere for Reigen to find when they got back. Not that Reigen could ever get truly angry with any of them, she was such a softy.

"How do you know?" asked Mob. Tome knew a lot being older and having had more life experience but she didn't know everything. Her grades made that perfectly clear…not that Mob's were much better. Maybe they were all dumb and this was dumb and they should all just go get the snacks like they said that they would before they added lying to their list of crimes.

"Because I just do, Mob, now are you going to light this thing or not?" asked Tome. She held a cigarette between two fingers. Mob looked between her friends. Well if everyone else wanted to….and Master Reigen wouldn't be mad….then maybe if they all shared that one cigarette it would all be fine. Just to pass that milestone like Tome said. Mob didn't know if this was ok but she did know that she didn't want to fall behind.

Mob took a deep breath and lit the end of the cigarette Tome had pulled out of Master Reigen's cigarette case. They all stared at the burning end for a moment. Rei watched the smoke rise from the top and checked the future…and she still couldn't tell if this ended up making her addicted or gave her cancer or something. Mob stared too, but she was more worried about getting in trouble. Master Reigen had never been mad at her…well she had but not truly. She had just been worried. That was why she yelled at Mob after that first night when they faced off against Claw…and when they met Mogami…and when she beat Sho's dad.

She hadn't been mad, just worried.

So maybe she would just be worried and not mad this time…even if they did steal a cigarette and lit it which meant that there was no way that they could ever give it back. They were committed to this now. Now they were bound by a terrible secret, a crime that they had all committed.

"Here goes nothing." Said Tome. She put the cigarette to her lips and inhaled quickly and deeply…and then immediately felt the urge to cough. She tried to inhale the smoke, move it from her mouth to her lungs, but the smoke seemed to have other ideas. It burned her throat and nose and eyes…but she could not start coughing. If she did then she'd lose Mob and Rei's respect forever. It was such a burden being the oldest sometimes.

She kept her mouth shut and passed it to Rei.

Rei inhaled and kept it in her mouth. She wasn't sure how to pull it down to her lungs and she didn't really want to. It tasted awful and smelled awful and just was awful! Why did adults do this? What was the point? She exhaled and handed the cigarette over to Mob.

"Um…thanks?" asked Mob. Rei was spitting a lot and Tome looked like she was going to be motion sick. Mob didn't think that this was such a good idea and hadn't ever thought that this was such a good idea…she looked down. She could just let it fall to the ground and crush it under her shoe like she'd seen Master Reigen do a thousand times…but that wouldn't be fair because everyone else had already tried…and Mob also didn't want to get left behind.

She put the cigarette to her lips and inhaled…and then started coughing more and harder than she ever had in her life.

"This is terrible!" Mob managed to gasp out. Why did Master Reigen do this to herself? It made zero sense? Was this one of those things you had to get used to? Like sea urchin? Why would anyone want to get used to this? Nope. Never again. Maybe this was just another way that Mob was weird but she knew that she was never smoking again.

"No it's not. It's…good. Smooth. I am in flavor country." Said Tome remembering an ad from when she was little. She was in flavor country alright…and she wished that she had bought a round trip ticket.

"Here, you take it then." Said Mob. She handed the cigarette back to Tome. Tome put her hands up and shook her head.

"Oh no, I don't want to hog it." Said Tome. She couldn't just come out and say that she never wanted to subject herself to that again but she could be a kind and generous friend.

"Rei?" asked Mob. Rei shook her head. There was no way she was putting herself through that again. Now she was going to have to take a bath when she got home and double wash her uniform to get the smell out…and before mom or dad or Riko noticed too….

"Well I don't want it." Said Mob. Tome reached for it slowly and as soon as it touched her fingers she let it drop. The wind carried it away before it even hit the ground. They watched as it rolled down the alleyway. Mob could have grabbed it with her powers but…but…it had touched the ground and now it was all germy and they could all get some terrible disease or something from not only smoking but smoking something that had been on the ground. She was just looking out for her friends, that was all.

"It was an act of God that no one could have foreseen." Said Tome sagely. Mob nodded. Rei wanted to tell Tome that she could have foreseen that if she knew what to look for but at the last moment decided to shut her mouth in case Tome decided that they needed to smoke another one or something. Thank goodness that she didn't. Instead they all went to the store where they said that they were going in the first place.

Mob was glad that they at least weren't adding lying to their list of crimes. She was glad that she didn't have the guilt of lying added onto the heap of guilt that churned within her. How could she have done that? She had promised Master Reigen that she would never smoke but she did and she had also stolen, too. She was as bad as she could be. She didn't know what to do. The guilt was eating her alive from the inside. She couldn't live with this for the rest of her life.

That was why she confessed.

"Master Reigen! Please forgive us!" said Mob. The minute they got back to the office she knew that she could not keep this to herself. It was like a dam had broken and there was no way to keep the truth in.

"Huh? What's up Mob?" asked Reigen as she came up from under her desk. How could she have just lost her cigarette case like that? It had to be somewhere, it didn't just get up and walk away.

"Shut up!" hissed Tome

"Mob! Don't!" said Rei. She had foreseen this. Not Mob telling on them specifically but getting found out. This was bad. This was so bad. This was the worst.

"Master! Please forgive us! We stole one of your cigarettes and smoked it! We're sorry!" said Mob. She got down into a full kowtow. Rei shook her head back and forth and danced in place. This was bad. This was so bad. Reigen was looking at them now and she looked…she looked kind of like Mob…which was even worse than her being angry….

"Mob! Get up! Stop kidding around! Heh. Mob can be such a kidder sometimes, can't she? She sure can tell a joke, can't you Mob?" asked Tome as she tried to drag Mob to her feet. For someone to tiny she sure was heavy. She needed to get Mob to knock this off before Reigen got pissed. She seemed fine now. She was just walking towards them….with a weird look in her eye….

"Mob…Tome….Rei…" said Reigen trying her best to stay calm. She could not go off on them, no, because that would just freak them out more than they were already. Or maybe she should freak them out. How many times had she told them to never start smoking?! Once you started it was damn near impossible to stop!

"I think I hear my mom calling!" said Tome as she let go of Mob. Reigen had on heels so there was no chance that she could catch up to Tome. Hooray for sensible shoes!

"Y-Yeah! And I have to go home and…iron my homework! I mean wash my bed! I mean-" said Rei even though she was paralyzed. Reigen had never looked at them like that. Oh no…was she going to kick all of them out? Tell their parents? Call the cops? Send them to prison for underage smoking?!

"Um…Miss Reigen? I looked all over the massage room but I couldn't find your cigarette case?" asked Serizawa. He thought that he would find her searching under her desk or behind the couch again but instead he found her…looking very….what was that look? And what was happening? The girls looked scared, Miss Kageyama, Mob, was kowtowing, and he swore that he could even see the faintest bits of yellow…like an aura…from Miss Reigen….

"Serizawa, leave us. I have a matter of great importance to discuss with the girls." Said Reigen in her most serious voice. Calm. Level headed. Everything her mother hadn't been when she caught her smoking half a lifetime ago.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" said Serizawa. He grabbed his bag and scuttled out of the room like a frightened crab. He had no idea what was happening but he wasn't about to disobey a direct order like that. Besides, she'd probably text him about this when she got home anyway.

"You three….Mob, get up off the floor. Now, what have I always said about smoking?" said Reigen

"That's it's expensive?" said Tome

"That it's addictive?" said Rei

"That we should never do it?" said Mob

"Ding, ding, ding we have three winners! Yes, I've told you three, you especially Mob, time and time again not to smoke? What, do I talk to hear myself speak?" asked Reigen. Tome looked like she was going to make some kind of smart comment but Reigen shut that down with a look. How could they have all been so…irresponsible? They could all end up addicted to smoking…and it would have all been her fault….

"Master…we're sorry." Said Mob softly. She sniffled. She could feel her eyes prickling with tears and her nose filling with snot.

"Very sorry!" said Rei nodding in agreement and dabbing at her eyes careful not to smudge her eyeliner.

"The most sorry!" said Tome before she began to sob. She'd congratulate Mob later on her great idea. Yeah, this would pull at Reigen's heart strings and-

"Everyone but Mob knock it off. Mob…I'm sorry that I upset you. Listen, guys, I'm not mad just…disappointed." Said Reigen. That was what you were supposed to say. She was not going to do what her mother did and rant and rave until the neighbors called the cops. Mob felt remorse for what she did. The other two…not so much…but at least Mob did. She was too sweet for all of this, she really was.

"Master….I'm sorry. I didn't even want to-" said Mob. Master Reigen was disappointed…Mob would have picked mad over disappointed. Mom said that a lot like when Mob brought home bad grades or stayed up too late or the one time that she drank a whole liter of milk in one night….

"It was Tome's idea!" said Rei

"Judas!" said Tome

"Stop it, all of you. I don't care who's idea this was, what matters is that you all went along with it. I'm not going to lecture you about how it's wrong to smoke and steal, give me back my cigarettes by the way, but I am going to say that when I tell you guys something I mean it. It's...at your age it's normal to want to try adult things like this but that's just it, cigarettes are for adults. When you get to be my age then you can do whatever you want but right now I'm partially responsible for you and I will not be responsible for you three ending up like me. Ok? I'm not mad at any of you, I'm not going to yell at anyone, I'm not going to punish anyone, and I'm certainly not going to make each of you smoke an entire carton of cigarettes….that was some A plus parenting there, mom….but I am going to ask that you three never do it again. Ok?" asked Reigen

"You're not going to call our parents?" asked Rei. Tome facepalmed and muttered something about giving Reigen ideas. Reigen chose to ignore that and focus on the matter at hand.

"No, I won't. Not this time, anyway….but don't do it again or I'll be forced to." Said Reigen. She didn't want to call anyone's parents and tell them that she had failed their children. She didn't want to have to explain that she had been so careless that she had let her cigarettes fall into their hands.

So she let them go.

Then, after their footsteps faded down the stairs and the front door slammed shut, she walked over to the garbage can and opened up her cigarette case. She held it in the palm of her hand and let it list to the side…then she snapped it shut and tucked it back into her suit pocket.

She'd quit one of these days.

Just not today.


	20. The Hotel Trip Part 1

Tome was a genius!

In her humble opinion, that is. She was tired of all of this 'will they, won't they' crap that Reigen and Serizawa had going on. Honestly, life was short and they were already super old so they should just get on it. Heh. Honestly Reigen would thank her later, once the trip was over, and then Tome could die a happy woman. Sometimes people just needed a nudge, that was all, though Tome had no idea why Reigen of all people would need a nudge in any sort of direction.

After all they did frequent the same love hotels.

Not that Tome had been noticed. She could be very stealthy when she needed to be. Inukawa…not so much….but Reigen didn't know him and she certainly did have his mom's number in her contacts and certainly wouldn't call his mom when she caught him coming out of a love hotel early in the morning. Tome didn't get Reigen sometimes, why she was always stopping them from doing fun things and all of that. She was always saying 'your life is your own' but then in the same breathe she said things like 'Tome, you're too young for all of that' and 'Tome, this time I'm going to pretend that I don't know anything but next time I'm telling your mom' and 'Tome, if a desk drawer is locked then stay out of it.'

Really.

Maybe she'd loosen up after her and Serizawa's big trip.

"Ok, what's that look?" asked Reigen as she flipped the opened sign to closed. Mob and Rei had gone home for the day but Tome lingered on. Reigen was grateful for her help and all but the look on her face was concerning.

"Nothing! I'm just thinking about….aliens." said Tome

"Uh huh, sure. Just make sure that whatever you're planning you take care not to get arrested or anything like that." Said Reigen

"Hey! I know better than to get arrested!" said Tome

"Ok, ok, I believe you." Said Reigen. She didn't believe Tome one bit but Mob would fill her in on whatever shenanigans happened while she was absent. A big job had come in, some hotel a city away was having ghost problems they said, and while Reigen was loathe to travel so much in the middle of the week she couldn't pass up the free room, free meal, and the fact that the client had chosen the premium rate for this job.

The only problem was that it was in the middle of the week.

Mob was not missing school for this shit. The old Reigen might have asked Mob to come along but she did not get to disrupt Mob's life like that or demand so much of her time. She didn't have to pass on the job or anything, though, because now she had an actual adult on staff who was free to travel in the middle of the week. Well it would only be for one night, they'd come back in the morning, but it was still a lot.

"I'm going home now, lots and lots to do. Anyway I talked to the hotel guy for you, your room number is 999. Remember, 999." Said Tome

"Three nine, like the Galaxy Express. Tome, I know what you're up to." Said Reigen as she checked her phone. Yup, a confirmation from the hotel. Room 999. Tome had a real future as a secretary, it seemed. She was good at ironing out logistics. The client offered enough rooms for her entire staff plus meal vouchers and stuff like that, things that required logistical planning, and Tome had done a very good job of doing the logistical planning for Reigen. Not that Reigen couldn't pass along information or anything herself, it was just nice to have someone handle it for her. It had been such the day…so many bad backs…so many people desperate to know their futures. Business was good.

"I'm not up to anything! You're paranoid!" said Tome

"Come on, you know you can't get anything past me." Said Reigen

"Yes I can!" said Tome

"Three nine? I know you chose that room specifically for the reference you adorable little nerd." Said Reigen rolling her eyes. These kids would be the death of her, and other such things her mom often said but without the level of affection Reigen put into her thoughts.

"Right….yeah, that's what I did and that's all I did…and I am not adorable. Anyway I have to go home now and do…stuff. All kinds of stuff!" said Tome

"Yes you are! You're adorable!" said Reigen calling after Tome as she ran out of there like her DS was at five percent.

"Good bye Miss Kurata!" said Serizawa. Reigen smiled as she heard him coming up the stairs. He sounded happy, which meant that his solo job went well. It had been a small job, and Reigen had already checked the place out with Mob as a free 'consultation' to confirm that it was an actual spirit. A haunted pachinko machine that made you always lose, haunted by some guy who died after playing pachinko at that machine for over thirty years. Sad but straightforward.

And it had gone well.

"Hey." Said Reigen as Serizawa came in through the doorway, money clutched in his hand.

"Miss Reigen! Here!" he said as he practically shoved the money at her. Reigen took and money and counted it quickly. After some mental math she handed him his cut.

"No! I mean, you don't have to." Said Serizawa

"I'm pretty sure that I have to unless I want those labor law people breathing down my neck." Said Reigen

"But…ok, I guess. I mean…you already pay me hourly and you're putting me up in a fancy hotel-"said Serizawa

"Consider this a bonus. Also who said that the hotel was going to be fancy?" asked Reigen. It looked normal on the website but Reigen didn't have her hopes up. Two stars, but that might have been because of the haunting. The so called haunting. So far it all seemed like normal problems that a hotel would have. Loud noises, faulty lighting, a broken water heater, people taking bites out of the room service food, things like that. Even if this turned out to be a bust at least they got a free mini vacation out of it.

"Miss Kurata did. I heard her talking, I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything, but I heard her talking with Miss Kurosaki and Miss Kageyama. She said that she made sure that you got a really nice room and that everything would be perfect…but I didn't really like the way that she 'perfect'…" said Serizawa. He knew that tone, that was the tone that Miss Kurata got when she was up to something. Nothing good ever came from Miss Kurata being up to something….

"We'll see what it is when we get there and if she did something…Tome-like…well then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Said Reigen. She had some idea, now, of what Tome had done. Reigen watched TV, she knew what was most likely going to happen. She and Serizawa would show up and then the room would only have one bed and, oh no! Whatever would they do?!

Order a rollaway.

Because real life did not work like that. She and Serizawa weren't going to suddenly go tumbling into bed together just because they had to share a hotel room. She would never ask that of him. He didn't need that from her. This was business, strictly business.

"So…tomorrow morning at the train station?" asked Reigen

"S-Sure! I won't be late!" said Serizawa. He'd set three alarms just to be sure that he wouldn't oversleep. This was going to be so…something. He had traveled before, extensively, but he had always been at the President's side then. It would be weird to go somewhere without him. Miss Reigen was nothing like the President, she was not Suzuki, so he had no idea what this trip would entail. Probably not hitting people with his umbrella or anything like that.

This would be fun!

Just him and her working…or hanging out….all night. Alone. In a hotel room. Together. Him. Her…alone…together…in a hotel room all night. He stopped that train of thought right in it's tracks. This was work, it was business, it was strictly business. Nothing was going to happen and he was crazy for even thinking that something could even possibly happen! She didn't like him like that. She couldn't like him like that.

Nothing was going to happen.


	21. The Hotel Trip Part 2 The Train Ride

Reigen may have over packed.

Just a bit, of course, she didn't go completely overboard. She just may have not needed both the suitcase and the duffle bag. This is just a one night job after all. Still, she did need to pack for redundancy, and she had her work outfits too, and also she was not buying travel size versions of all of her product when she would only be gone for one night. Besides, travel size sucked because you could never be sure how much you needed. Like now, her skin was getting so dry out in the early spring on the calendar but still feeling like late winter weather, that she would need at least half a bottle of moisutizer to feel like anything other than a stocking which was about to split down the seam.

She packed those for redundancy too.

Or maybe she should just stop being so lazy and shave her damn legs for once. Blond was supposed to be hard to see but while she had been blessed with mom's hair color she had been cursed with dad's body hair. Well at least nobody ever had to see it, nobody that she was planning on seeing more than once or twice anyway. She even brought long pajama pants, too, instead of the gym shorts or the night gowns she usually wore. This would not be one of those 'fall asleep in her slip' nights. No. She had company tonight.

"Sorry I'm late for being early!"

Not THAT kind of company.

"Serizawa, hey. No, you're fine-" said Reigen

"I was up late because I couldn't sleep but then I did go to sleep and I slept through one of my alarms but I woke up for the second one so I left but then I couldn't remember if I gave Sho's hamsters enough food so I had to go home and check and-" said Serizawa. Last night had been way too long and way too short at the same time. There were so many things to worry about, so many things that could go wrong, and he needed to plan for all of them so that if one of those things did go wrong then he would know what to do.

Which had not left much time for sleep.

"Serizawa, breathe. You're alright, ok? You're still on time and that's what matters. Think of it this way, you were late for being but early for being late." Said Reigen

"Y-you're right. I've never looked at it like that. Thank you, Miss Reigen." Said Serizawa. She always knew just what to say to make him feel better. She never said things like 'You're being ridiculous' or 'grow up already you're freaking out over nothing.' No, she was always so patient and wise and kind and understanding…and he was staring again, wasn't he. He looked away quickly. No wait, that was worse because now she probably thought that she had done something to offend him or something. But if he looked at her again then he might end up staring and then she'd think that he was weird or-

"So…ever been on a train before?" asked Reigen before she mentally kicked herself. Of course he had been on a train before, this was Japan! Now he probably thought she was teasing him or something like that. He was so sensitive, more so than he let on, and now this entire trip was going to be so awkward-

"A-A few times. This type of train, I mean, not the Seasoning City loop line. The President didn't really like trains, he had his own private plane to get to places, but my mom and I used to take the train to Dry Goods City to visit my grandparents when I was really little." Said Serizawa. She probably thought that he was such a loser, now. He'd gone so many places…but not really. She was really well traveled. She had gone off to university on her own and moved to Seasoning City on her own and now she was taking this trip all on her own and she probably hadn't stayed up all night agonizing over what to pack or what could go wrong or-

"Well this isn't a-anything special, don't worry. We aren't going very far anyway, just a city or so over." Said Reigen. Right, he was probably really anxious about going this far from home on his own. Well he wasn't on his own, she was there, but he probably didn't see her like he saw Suzuki, which was good, but also meant that she did not put him nearly as at ease as he should have been and he was probably just a bundle of nerves right now…maybe she should have postponed this until the weekend and then just called Mob. Well she'd have to take all of them if she took Mob, she knew how bad playing favorites could go, which mean that she would be responsible for all three of them in a strange city, and she didn't much want to risk losing one of them, probably Tome if she were to be honest, so really taking Mob was not an option…

"R-Right. You're right, this won't be very much at all. I've been all over the world, this is nothing. Not that it's nothing! Really, thank you for bringing me with and putting me up and-" said Serizawa

"You don't have to thank me, Serizawa, it's just work. Also I'm not the one putting you up, the hotel is. Trust me if I was putting you up we wouldn't be going anywhere this nice. Not that I have any idea at all if this place is nice, so don't get your hopes up." Said Reigen

"I won't! Don't worry!" said Serizawa with a bow. She did that thing where she laughed from behind her hand. He didn't know why she always did that, she was so pretty when she laughed. Not that she wasn't always pretty, she was, she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his entire life. Or rather woman. He knew girls and pretty was not a word that he would apply to them. They were cute and adorable because they were kids, not pretty, because pretty was a word that carried with it a lot of other feelings that he knew that he had for Miss Reigen and he knew that he should not have been feeling for her.

He knew that he should not have been so excited to see her. His eyes should not have lit up when he saw her off in the distance. His heart should not have raced when he got close enough to see, actually see, her as something other than a brown coat and a blonde ponytail off in the distance. When he got close enough that he could see how rosy her cheeks were and how she had a little lipstick on her front tooth and how the light hit her and made her practically **glow**…

He knew that he should not have reached over to steady to her when she train came chugging in a little too fast and the wind it made was just a little too strong and her shoes were a little too tall so she swayed just a little too far to the side and he reached over a little too much and steadied her because, well, he didn't want her to go toppling over. Especially because she was holding so many bags, which made balancing a little hard for her, and that would not have helped matters at all. He also knew that he could have just caught her with his powers but, well, he had been thinking.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver….literally. Heh. I could have just gone right over and then you'd have to exorcise me. Heh. Ok, sorry, that wasn't funny at all." Said Reigen. She knew that she should have just stopped at thanks. She knew that now he probably thought that she was weird, at best, and now things would be so awkward between them. Her and her big mouth.

She knew that she needed to learn to shut her mouth. She just could not stop talking. She talked while they boarded, found a seat, and sat down. They sat facing each other, not side by side, which would have made no sense anyway because they had no reason to sit so close. These were facing seats, the kind that sat four, and Reigen wished now that it had been a weekend so the kids could have come so then maybe someone else would have said something because now she was saying way too much and what she was saying made zero sense what so ever.

"….which is so ridiculous. I mean, of course they should let dogs on the trains even if they aren't Seeing Eye dogs. Dogs are great for reducing anxiety and a lot of people get anxious on trains. I know I did, anyway, back when I was a kid. My parents and I were taking the train over to Kyoto and they actually ended up forgetting me on the train. I was like four and since then I've had this terrible anxiety about trains, well it went away once I started university, but still a dog would have helped. I don't know, I just love dogs. Mob's more of a cat person, don't even get me started on that. You know what she asked me once? She asked if we could get an office cat and I was all 'an office dog would be better' and then I gave her this spiel about guard dog for the office but then she gave me this speech, and it was a speech, about how dogs were clearly superior to cats, which was weird because I had known her a month and this point and she'd hardly strung more than five words together at a time-" said Reigen. Serizawa tried to follow along in what she was saying. They didn't get to talk that often, not really, because they were always either working or the others were hanging out with them and they talked plenty. He and Miss Reigen texted every night, almost every night, but this was different. She had never said so much to him at once and even though it was kind of hard to keep up it was also so nice.

He loved listening to her talk.

She was telling him so much about herself and her life, things that he hadn't even known, and it was so nice that she wanted him to know so much about her. It was also nice that she was doing all of the talking. He didn't know what to say to her, and he didn't have a lot to say to her, so it was easier to listen. Over text it was easier, there was the delay in what they said which gave him time to think about what he was going to say next. Also they mostly just talked about their days and other stuff like shows they liked and games they'd play. Things like that.

Talking to her was much better than texting her, though.

Just. Stop. Talking.

"….don't ever get Mob started about cats. She seems quiet now but get her going about something she likes and you'll be sitting there all night. By the end of that little Mob speech I was just about ready to go out and get a dog just to prove her wrong but the building has this rule about pets and-" Reigen could not stop taking. Maybe because he was so quiet. He must have been bored, so bored, the most bored. She needed to at least let him get a word in edgewise. God, she was such a teenager right now. This was exactly how she was with guys, a motor mouth, back when she had been the girls' age. Well Rei's age specifically. She learned to shut up and start kissing by the time she was Mob's age which was not an option here. If she were to just learn in and kiss him then that would have ruined everything.

Not that they had anything.

Well they had something. He saved her life, that was something, and they were friends, also something. The something that they had together was not the something that she wanted. Well she wanted a lot of somethings from him but she had lived long enough to know that what she wanted, all of the things she wanted, were not things that were ever going to happen. If she were to just learn in and kiss him, tell him to skip the job and go right up to the room, well then she'd get what she wanted but she'd lose what she had. Also she wouldn't get exactly what she wanted….even if she wasn't sure if that was what she wanted.

If he didn't commit afterwards it would hurt.

If he did commit afterwards it would be terrifying.

Not that Reigen had commitment problems. No. She could commit to a lot things. Her job, the kids, ignoring mom's constant phone calls…she could commit to all kinds of things. Even him…if he wanted that. Sure the thought of having to pick one person to marry her life to, to have to take into account when she was making every single choice in her life, to have to reframe her entire life around was terrifying but…but also kind of nice. Having someone. Meaning something to someone…that was nice.

"What about you?" asked Reigen finally giving him a word in edgewise. Serizawa sat up straighter. Right. He had to…what did he have to agree with her on? Wait, no, she was not Suzuki and he did not have to just blindly agree with whatever she said…but he was also not going to disagree with her just to be contrary….but he had no idea what he was supposed to be agreeing with or disagreeing with…

"Um….I'm not sure." Said Serizawa. Honesty was the best policy he had read. He hadn't been ignoring her, he had just…gotten a little sidetracked. He heard what she was saying but he just got a little…lost…in her voice. In how her eyes lit up and her hands moved and she just looked so…happy. She was so pretty when she was happy….

"Right, yeah, I get it. Sorry, sometimes I just…talk a lot." Said Reigen

"I know. Not to be mean! I mean I like it when you talk to…with...me" said Serizawa. He could feel himself blushing just a little and he ducked his head down low so she wouldn't see. He willed himself to stay calm. He was not going to explode and put everyone on that train in danger. Not that he felt like exploding, losing control a little but not truly exploding. He wasn't anxious, just nervous, which he should have been used to by now. She had always made him feel like that, maybe even since the day they met. The day he saw her run past him with a toy gun…the he saved her life….

"Well that was more like 'at you' but still, thanks. God, I'm one of the great monologists of Japan, aren't I?" Said Reigen with a bitter laugh.

"I don't mind 'at' either, Miss Reigen. I just like it when you…talk…I guess. I don't know, you just get really excited about things and it's…nice." Said Serizawa. He shouldn't have said that. That sounded weird and now she thought that he was weird or, even worse, that he…liked…her. He did, he shouldn't have but he did, but she could never know that. It would not end well. He knew that she did not return his feelings and that she could not return his feelings. If she ever found out then that would be the end of them, the end of what they had together.

"Th-thanks….you should get excited too! I mean, this is exciting! It's our first trip…work trip. The first Spirits and Such ever work trip that you've taken. A momentous occasion if there ever was one!" said Reigen

"Right! I-I will, ma'am!" said Serizawa. He had been nervous, too nervous, but he had no reason to be. This was fine, really, more than fine. So what if he was spending more time alone with her than he ever had before, this was a work thing. Nothing was going to go wrong, everything would be fine, and nothing was going to happen. Nothing bad at all. Normal. This whole thing was going to be just fine. Normal.

"Ugh, call me anything but ma'am. I'm only twenty nine." Said Reigen with a groan

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" said Serizawa

"Hey, it's ok. You can just call me Reigen, ok? Ma'am is my mom….and I don't even call her ma'am anymore. I'm only twenty nine, Serizawa, it was a big enough shock when people started calling me 'Miss'." Said Reigen

"Sorry. Should I not call you Miss Reigen anymore?" asked Serizawa

"Miss Reigen, just Reigen, or Arat-Reigen. Really, it's all good." Said Reigen with a wave of her hand. She leaned back, attempting to look the picture of cool, calm, and laid back. Inside she was reeling. She almost let him call her by her given name. Almost no one called her by her first name, no one she intended on spending more than a long weekend at most with.

It could have been nice. Him. Calling her Arataki….but those were not the thoughts to have.

"Ok….Miss Reigen." Said Serizawa because, well, all the books said that it was most polite to address girls as Miss. Well, girls and women. He called all of the girls but Mob, and even then sometimes Mob, Miss because, well, it was polite.

"Or whatever, it's up to you." Said Reigen

"Me?" asked Serizawa

"Yes you, who else? It's up to you. I'm fine with whatever, really, so it's up to you." Said Reigen. Serizawa took in a deep breath. That was…a lot. Dizzying even. Another way in which she was nothing like Suzuki. He didn't know why he kept on comparing the two but he just could not help it.

"It's up to…me? I'm sorry, it's just…you're very nice to me, that's all. I mean back when…the President never let me-" said Serizawa. Reigen could hear it, the hitch in his voice. She reached over and put a hand on his arm. In a reassuring gesture because sometimes people needed to be reassured and it had nothing to do with anything but the fact that he needed reassurance.

"Well he can go suck a bag of….anyway, that part's over now. It's over and done with. You're not his slave anymore, and you're certainly not mine. I mean, what do I need a slave for? I'm lazy enough as it is." Said Reigen patting his arm. Her hand moved lower, there, to his wrist. She was leaned forward, too, because these seats were usually spaced apart…or maybe she was just tiny. Whatever the reason there was a legitimate reason. There really was.

"Master Reigen…thank you." Said Serizawa. Sometimes it felt like there was a gaping wound where Szuki used to be. Other times it felt like a scar, raised and red but not something that he noticed unless he ran his mind over it. She had taken this pain from wound to scar in an instant. Her hand on his arm, her leaning in so close….the smell of her perfume…the smell of her cigarettes….the way her eyes rested on his….the words she said.

There was a moment between them. One of those moments that made him think to himself 'what's next?' because it felt like there should have been something next. He had no idea what came next. He had never felt this way about a woman before. He had never even had the chance to feel this was about a woman before. He knew that if he were to ask her, to tell her how he felt, and then ask her what came next she'd probably….

If this were anime she'd slap him in the face.

But this was life and she'd probably…do what she was doing now. Reassure him. Tell him no but then reassure him that everything would be alright. She of course would tell him no. She was his boss, first of all, and second of all she could do so much better. She could find a man who didn't get anxious when he couldn't bag his groceries fast enough, who didn't have to sleep with the blinds wide opened so that he didn't end up trapped in his room, who had friends that weren't half his age, who didn't have to remind himself to shower and brush his teeth every single day, who had lived a full life, who was smart enough not to go along with something that was so transparently wrong-

She deserved much better than what he could be.

"You're welcome, Serizawa. Anyway, you're really way too down on yourself sometimes, you know? Really I'm not treating you in any way that any decent person off the street wouldn't-" said Reigen. He was so down on himself, she could see it in his eyes, and she could even feel it in his aura. He surrounded her, warm and clingy but also with a slight static shock, kind of like taking a sweater right out of the dryer. It was nice, though, being so near him. She didn't knew that she may have been too close to him, her back was certainly protesting from leaning like this, and maybe she had been touching him for a little too long but…

She didn't want to let to.

"No. I mean….nobody's ever treated me the way you treat me." Said Serizawa. She was so close and she was touching him and he knew, the part of his brain responsible for reason knew, that she didn't mean anything by it. She was just being nice, just offering comfort, that was all. She did not like him. No matter how badly he wanted her to like him she did not have those sorts of feelings for him. She couldn't.

"Well they should." Said Reigen simply because, well, it was simple. Serizawa was a good man, someone who was just so….genuine. He was genuine in everything he did and that was so…she had never met anyone like him. Any man, anyway. That was why he could never be with her. Beyond the fact that she was his boss and he was in a bad place emotionally they could never be together because she knew that she would ruin him.

And she didn't want that.


	22. The Hotel Trip Part 3: The Room

It had been a spirit after all.

Reigen hadn't been worried about that. If there was no spirit then she could have come up with some spiritual bullshit, spread some salt around, and enjoyed her free one night hotel stay and paycheck. Well it had been a spirit so she really hadn't had to do much of anything at all. Just sit back and watch.

And watch she did.

Confident Serizawa was a rarely seen Serizawa. He was confident in his work, if anything, and it was...good. So good. The most good. Just the way he…everything. The energy that crackled around them when he cornered the spirit, the look in his eyes that clearly said 'I've got this', and the way, afterwards, when he just looked so very pleased with himself…

It was good.

Even what came after that. After he finished he immediately started fussing over her. He asked her if she was alright, if she was scared, if the spirit had done anything to her, etcetera. She told him over and over again that she was fine but it took him a while to be convinced. She missed confident Serizawa but concerned Serizawa was nice, too. He stuck around for a while but, eventually, he was replaced with regular Serizawa.

Regular Serizawa was nervous, stuttered, and acted like the world was going to explode at any second if he did anything, anything at all, wrong. Not that there was much that could go wrong. They reported back to the owner that they had gotten rid of the spirit, it had been the first thing that they did after they dropped their bags off, and Reigen collected their payment. Nothing to it at all. He really had no reason to be so nervous, he had been doing this job for a while now and it had to be easier than following crazy old Suzuki around the world and listening to him monologue about how he was the protagonist of the world, as Serizawa said that he was apt to do. She wondered, sometimes, where that man went. The man who could have done that, follow the maniac across the globe like it was nothing. Was he confident Serizawa? Or nervous Serizawa? Or concerned Serizawa? Or a version of himself that she had never seen before? She didn't know which Serizawa Suzuki had gotten and it didn't matter. She had Serizawa now.

Nervous Serizawa.

She didn't think that Serizawa could ever be any more nervous than she had seen him but she was mistaken. After she collected their payment the owner handed her the key to their room. Room. Singular room. Because her secretary, thank you Tome, said that she was only bringing one member of staff…and the owner had assumed that it would be a female member of staff. The owner also apologized that there were two queen beds instead of one king, like her 'secretary' had asked for.

Thanks Tome…thanks a lot.

Reigen assured the owner that this would be fine…and it would be. This was not a low-key smutty manga. They weren't going to step through the threshold and immediately rip each other's clothes off or start making declarations of undying love. They were adults. They were going to use that room only for eating, sleeping, bathing, watching TV, and maybe building a little fort. That was all. Really. She had no plans for it to be otherwise. She could share a room with a man without it turning into anything R18+.

"This is…really nice." Said Serizawa as they stepped through the threshold of room 999. He had figured that it would be like the hotel rooms had and the president stayed at when they traveled. One room but all divided up. Well this was one room with two beds…and a bathroom! He could sleep there! So she could have her privacy. Not that he was planning on invading her privacy or anything! No, she could have all the privacy she wanted! He'd go and sleep on a bench at the train station if that was what she wanted. The last thing that he wanted was to make Miss Reigen feel uncomfortable in any way.

"Yeah, they even brought our bags up for us." Said Reigen with a stretch. That train ride, and the cab ride to the hotel, had taken a lot out of her. Yeah, she was tired. Maybe she was even so tired that she would just climb into bed and pass right out. Yeah, maybe that would happen.

"That was nice of them." Said Serizawa. They both just stood there in the doorway. He didn't want to move until she did. That was the rule with the President….not that she was anything like the President.

"Yeah…it was. Really nice." Said Reigen. She didn't want to move until he moved. She had to gauge his comfort level here. The last thing that she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable. Not that she was planning on walking around naked or anything like that. She had packed pajamas, real ones. Not a slip or an oversized T-shirt. Yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt. Nice ones, though, not the ones she usually slept in with the inner thigh hole. Yeah, no, that would definitely not have been good sleepover attire.

She just had to think of this as a sleepover.

Not that kind of sleep over.

"Um….Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa

"YES!? I mean, yes? What's up?" asked Reigen, a little too loudly. He was shuffling in place a little. She was prepared to hear anything. He wanted to wait for the next train, the five a.m. in the train station, he was walking back to Seasoning City, he had somehow spontaneously developed telepathy and knew all the thoughts that she been having about him and he wanted nothing more to do with her…

"I can sleep somewhere else if you want me to! I mean, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything! I can just sleep in the bathroom or the hallway or at the train station if you want me to!" said Serizawa. To his surprise she didn't say yes or no or anything, no, she just started to giggle. She did that thing where she put her hand over her mouth and started to giggle.

He loved that sound.

"I-I'm sorry, Serizawa, but that was so…you! In a good, way, of course. Just…I'm not uncomfortable. There are two beds!" said Reigen with a laugh. She didn't mean to laugh at him and now he was probably going to take it the wrong way and-

"I-I know but I just thought…that you might be uncomfortable…you can have both beds if you want!" said Serizawa

"I'm not uncomfortable and I don't need two beds. I mean maybe if I feel like building a fort later…" said Reigen only half kidding.

"I can help with that! I'm good at making forts, Sho says so." Said Serizawa. Those were fun times, well the times when they made forts and stayed up all night playing videogames, not the times when the President made them do bad things…but he shouldn't think about that. He should just think of this as another sleepover. Yes. Just a grown man and a grown woman having a sleepover together. Nothing strange or risqué about that. Life was not like…art movies…just because they were two grown adults, a man and woman, presumably both heterosexual though he never thought to ask her, that did not mean that they were going to do…anything.

Not that he even wanted to.

That would be wrong.

"Well if Sho's willing to vouch for you…" said Reigen with a giggle. A high pitched sort of giggle that women her age did not make.

"We could have a fort war if you want." Said Serizawa before he could stop himself. She was a grown woman, she would not want to spend the night throwing pillows and blankets at each other like children.

"A war? What's the prize?" asked Reigen. Always a fun game, fort war, though she hadn't played in years. She had found other things to do in bed…don't think about him like that. Look him in the eye…not that much! No, don't look down. He's not that tall! Stop thinking about whether or not you can wrap your arms around his shoulders! Stop making so much eye contact!

"Winner's choice?" asked Serizawa, his voice getting a little high at the end. She was looking at him like…nobody had ever looked at him like that…and he liked it.

"Whatever I want?" asked Reigen with another giggle. She almost reached up and played with her hair. Arataki, no, just no.

"Of course." Said Serizawa. She was still looking at him like that and he never wanted her to stop…but he should not have been thinking so much into it…or how close she was…or how close she could be…

"So you think that I'll win?" asked Reigen

"I'd let you win." Said Serizawa simply. He was a little closer to her, now. He could see the powder on her eyelids, where it wasn't blended all the way. The strand of hair that had gotten loose from her ponytail. The way her bangs were a little uneven. The way the light hit her hair…

"What's the fun in that? I want a real victory, Serizawa." said Reigen, her voice a little lower, and she herself getting a little closer, than she had intended.

"…you could beat me at anything, Miss Reigen…you're amazing." Said Serizawa. mentally he kicked himself. That was one of those things that he should have only thought! Now she probably thought that he was some kind of weirdo for having thoughts like that about her and-

"You are too, you know." Said Reigen. She was aware, now, of how close she was standing to him. Stop it, Arataki. You're almost thirty years old, you're acting like a hormone addled, love struck, restless teenager.

"I'm not…" said Serizawa softly. Reigen didn't think. She reached over and took his hand. His eyes met hers. Her eyes met his.

"Serizawa, you saved my life. You helped me save the kids' lives. You gave up everything you knew to…to…Serizawa you're brave and…and amazing. I think that you are the most amazing man that I have ever met in my life and I am so glad to have you…to have met you." Said Reigen. She felt drunk. She hadn't had a drop of anything stronger than tea all day but she felt drunk. His hand in hers…their proximity…she felt like doing something stupid. It would be easy…so easy…too easy…

"Miss Reigen…" said Serizawa. He thought that she was the bravest person he had ever known. He thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He thought that she was the nicest, smartest, most patient and caring and compassionate and understanding person on the planet. He wanted to tell her all of that…but he didn't know how. Words were hard. He didn't have any right then. She was close…and she could have been closer. He felt…he felt like he was going to die…but in a good way. He wanted…he wanted to do something stupid. The stupidest thing that he had ever done in his life…

"Serizawa?" asked Reigen. His hand was still in hers. She could have let go at any time…but she felt kind of like being a stupid teenager right about now…it would have been easy…so easy…

"I think…I think that you're amazing and…and there are a lot of things that I want to say to you…but I just…don't know how and…" said Serizawa

"And?" asked Reigen softly

"And I don't know…how." Said Serizawa just as softly. He could feel her nail under his thumb. It was…soft. Her whole hand was soft. Everything about her was just so…soft looking. Her hair, her skin, and even her eyes had a soft look to them…then…so soft…and so blue…

"Um…right or the left!?" asked Reigen suddenly. No. She was not going to do that to him. She was not going to be stupid and ruin everything. She took a step back from him, from them, from the situation that she had almost gotten herself into. Gotten them into.

"Huh?" asked Serizawa with a blink that would have been right at home on an anime character. She had been right there…and now she wasn't…well she was but it felt like she wasn't.

"Beds! Right or the left?!" asked Reigen motioning to the beds behind them.

"Uh…away from the windows I guess….I don't really like…windows." Said Serizawa. How could he have been so stupid? Of course she didn't want to be with him like that! This was Miss Reigen, she could have any man she wanted, any at all. She wanted a man that was as brave as she was, as smart as she was, someone who could keep up with her. Someone who didn't get nervous when he looked at the sky for too long or when he couldn't bag his groceries fast enough or when he was in a crowd that was too big. Someone who didn't need to have an elaborate going to bed and getting up procedure just so that he didn't get trapped in his room…

She deserved much better than what he could be.

"Right, right, sorry I forgot. Anyway, wow, this is some hotel room, huh? Western style, very comfortable. Not that I have anything against traditional accommodations, this is just more of what I'm used to…" said Reigen. She began to ramble, she tended to do what when she was nervous, fill the atmosphere with words so it didn't get filled with anything else, when she felt cornered. Not that he had cornered her. No, she had cornered herself. How could she have almost done something so stupid? What was wrong with her? Was there something in the water? Did she hit her head at some point and not remember? Was she possessed by that spirit from earlier? She did not know. At least she had the self-awareness to stop herself before she went too far…

Serizawa was so grateful, then, that she was alright. If he had made her uncomfortable then she would have said something. Still, though, he could not believe that he had almost done something so…stupid. Reckless. Thoughtless. She did not like him like that…she could not like him like that…

But he liked her like that.

And he didn't know how to make himself stop. Even watching her pace the room and talk about…he had lost track of what she was talking about….was sending butterflies into his stomach and throughout his entire body. It wasn't just physical, there was a lot of that of course, but there was also the fact that…that she saw something in him. She saw something in him beyond a pawn to be used or…or something terrible and dangerous that needed to be hidden away. She saw him as a person…

And he saw her as everything.

But she could never see him like that. No matter how badly he wanted her to stop pacing the room and sit down on the bed next to him and take his hand…he would never ask that of her. He would never put her on the spot like that. He would never ask…because that was not something that she was willing to give. He was sure of it, as sure of it as he was of the fact that…that nothing was going to happen.

She had flopped down on her bed, now. Her own bed.

Nothing was going to happen.

He tried to keep his thoughts from going beyond hand holding…and even that he should have stopped himself from thinking about. She had thrown herself down, backwards, onto her bed. She was looking up at the ceiling and she was still talking. Her hair was fanned out around her like an aura. Yellow, reddish yellow….strawberry blond. That was the name of her hair color. Strawberry blond. It could have been her aura. The way the light, the dying light, was hitting her…the rosy flush across her cheeks…the way she kicked her leg as she told him about…something. He really should listen…he should pay attention to what she saying, not the way she looked…

But she was just so beautiful.

She was so fucking beautiful.

"….which are much better for your back than foam beds. Seriously, never get a foam bed unless you want back problems. Not that I would know why you would even want back problems. Not that I think that you would…even…" said Reigen. She could not stop talking. It was just like that when she was on that damned TV show all those months ago. She just could not stop running her mouth. She couldn't stop talking because if she did then…then they that question would hang in the atmosphere.

What now?

But she had paused for too long and now the question was there, hovering, above them. He was looking at her…really looking at her. She had thrown herself down on the bed to stop herself from pacing like a caged tiger but now she felt…stuck. Trapped. Because if she got up then he would stop looking at her like that…and she never wanted him to stop looking at her like that. She knew that she must have been imagining that look in his eyes…that look of pure adoration…the way he was looking at her like she was the answer to every prayer that he had ever said…and she didn't even know if he was the praying type…but he was looking at her like she was…

She had no more words.

She had run out of words.

The words had died on her lips like the last of the sunlight was dying behind the horizon. The question was there, in the atmosphere, and it was not going away. It refused to die. She didn't know why. It wasn't like there could be a next. She did not need to do that to him, to make him have something new to worry about. He needed one more thing to worry about like she needed another bag of table salt. If she were to do what she wanted, sit up, get up, walk over, and just kiss him senseless….well then that would just be stupid.

He didn't need that from her.

He didn't want that from her.

Even though he was staring at her, now, like he wanted her. Like he wanted her in every single way a person could want another. Like…like nobody had ever looked at her before….and she was looking at him….too…and they were there…together…

"M-Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa. He just…he felt like he was going to pass out of explode or something…there was just something in the atmosphere…something that he could not name…invisible but everywhere…hanging over them…

"Ser-Serizawa?" asked Reigen, her voice soft, so soft, then. So quiet. She was whispering. She didn't know why she was whispering. Maybe because she had run out of words, before…and even now she was running low…

"I-I…I think that you're…I just think…I shouldn't tell you…I just…I don't know. There are just so many things that I want to say to you but…but if I did then…even then I wouldn't know…how." Said Serizawa softly, just as softly as she had spoken. He didn't know why they were whispering. For once they were alone. No kids around, no clients, just him and her…all alone. There. In a borrowed room. Not the office. A room that they would never, ever, be in again. A room that could…that could seem to exist outside of…but it didn't. What happened in this room would not stay in this room. What he said in this room would not stay in this room…

"Yeah…me neither." Said Reigen. She had a million and one things to say to him…but she had no idea how to go about saying them…or even if she should. He seemed like he had something to say which was akin to what she had to say…but even if he did say it…then what? What then? Where would they go from there? She knew the power the rooms like this had, borrowed rooms, the power to keep secrets. A borrowed room like this was made to keep secrets, it seemed, because it almost seemed to be a world all of it's own. But it was not. It was a part of the world and what happened in that room would…would follow them out into the world…

"Just…but I feel like if I don't say it to you…then I might just…I don't know." Said Serizawa. He wanted so badly to tell her just to get an answer. He knew that the way he felt was wrong, that it could never happen, so maybe if she said no then these feelings would just go away…if he even wanted them to just go away…

"Same. I mean…I don't want to…to put you on the spot or to…to make you uncomfortable…because there's a lot of shit going on in your life right now…and you don't need me adding to it. You don't need that kind of shit from me." Said Reigen

"…I can decide that for myself…the things that I can handle…in my life I mean. What I can deal with, I mean." said Serizawa. She added to his life but never, ever, ever anything negative. If anything she made his life so much better. He had no how much better but he didn't want to even begin to try and quantify it.

"I know. Your life is your own but…but I would never make you feel obligated to me. Beholden to me." Said Reigen

"I'm not. I'm here because…because I want to be with you. I don't feel like…sometimes I think of you as the President, the way I-I was with him…but you're not him and the way I feel about you is…is nothing like what I felt about him. The way I feel about you is…it's not obligation. I don't feel like I owe you my life but I do feel like…like I want to be with you…just because." Said Serizawa

"Because?" asked Reigen

"Because you are so…amazing. You are so amazing and…and brave. You're the bravest person that I have ever met. The way you just…you tried to shoot the President with a toy gun…you almost died..." Said Serizawa

"You saved my life." Said Reigen because, well, he had. If not for him then she would not have been sitting there. He hadn't known her but he had still risked his life to save her…

"It was…it was the right thing to do. I had just…had enough, I guess. I'd had enough of hurting people and watching them get hurt…but I felt so powerless to stop…but then I saw you…and what you did…and I felt like doing something courageous for once…and I couldn't let you die. I didn't know if…if I would survive but I knew that I couldn't let you die…and I still wouldn't. I will always be there to protect you…for as long as you'll have me." Said Serizawa

"I…I want you to…I mean I don't need protection but…but thank you. I just…I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to be with me…in any way." said Reigen

"I'm with you because I want to be, not because I have to be. My life is my own and I choose to be here, anywhere, with you…Miss Reigen." Said Serizawa

"I-I want to be here with you, too, Serizawa. I want…I want a lot…and I don't want you to ever feel like you have to go along with something just because I want it…" said Reigen

"What if…what if I wanted it too?" said Serizawa

"…what do you want?" asked Reigen

"To be with you…that's all. I want to…to always be with you. I mean…I think about you all the time and when I see you…I'm just so happy…and then when I go home, on my way home I mean, all I can think about is seeing you again…or just messaging you…but seeing you is better. I just…I want to be with you because I…I…" said Serizawa

"You what?" asked Reigen. Her heart was beating so fast she could feel it pounding against her ribcage. She was sitting up now, facing him. He was red. She was red, she could feel it, and it could maybe even be seen through her makeup.

"….I like you…" said Serizawa. There. He said it. He had wanted to say it for weeks now. Maybe since he met her, the woman brave enough to face the most powerful man on Earth with a toy gun, the woman who never once gave up…the woman who saw something in him that nobody else had ever seen before. He liked her. He liked her and she knew and she would…she would say something. She would say something and he would accept whatever she had to say.

"…same…."said Reigen. There was a pause, a long one. He faced her. She faced him. Two beds. Separate beds. Space between them. The length of a nightstand. The sun was almost dead, gone to visit the other side of the world, and Reigen wished that she could go with it. She wished that she could escape it, the question that had been hanging over her head, his head, their heads, for weeks now.

What next?


	23. The Hotel Trip Part 4: What Comes Next

Neither of them had any idea what they were supposed to do now.

The cat was out of the bag. He liked her. She liked him. That was all that there was to it. It was simple, and should have been a happy occasion, their mutual confession, but instead it just brought with it a massive, paralyzing, question.

What next?

Reigen had no idea what she was supposed to do now. She liked him. She wasn't madly in love with him but she did have feelings for him. Her feelings for him went beyond the physical, if this had just been sexual attraction it would have faded already, and that was the worst thing. She liked him as a person. She wanted to be with him in all ways. She didn't want a night or two with him and then them going their separate ways….but that was always how it went. It always felt so good, starting out, but it always ended the same way…and she didn't want them to end.

She wanted to be with him.

And it was terrifying.

"Same?" asked Serizawa. She knew what he meant, right? He liked her, just liked her, well not JUST liked her. He like-liked her, to borrow a word from the girls. He wasn't in love with her or anything, at least he thought that he wasn't, and either way he was not opening with an 'I love you'. He had barely choked out an 'I like you'. Even that was…a lot.

It needed to be said.

He just could not keep it to himself any longer. Every single day, every moment, he spent with her he just wanted to blurt it out because she just…well he just…wanted her to know. That way he could get some closure, which his therapist said was very important to have, as to whether or not she felt the same way…even though she couldn't have. She could do so much better…even if did seem, sometimes, like she liked him back…like earlier…she had held his hand…and that had been what had done it. Because he needed to know. Yes or no, acceptance or rejection, he needed to know.

But she said nothing.

Was she waiting for him to say something? But what could he say? He always needed time when he spoke, time to collect his thoughts, and time to make sure that he wasn't making an idiot out of himself…like he just had. He had made an idiot out of himself…hadn't he? He just blurted it out and now things were…whatever this was.

Awkward. That was what this was.

"Miss Reigen-?" asked Serizawa because, well, the silence was worse than anything that she could have said. She must have been getting ready to reject him, yes, that was it. Well then…well then he could take it. Then they could move forward…or pretend that this had never happened. She said that she felt the same but…but that was impossible. She must have been trying to spare his feelings or-

"Yeah? Sorry, just…this is a lot. I'm sorry." Said Reigen. She held her hands clasped together and stared down at her feet. She could see the red of her toenails through her stockings. Thin, too thin. She felt the seam with her toes.

"N-no, don't be! I just…I shouldn't have said anything." Said Serizawa. She wasn't looking at him, she was looking down. She said that she felt the same…and he needed to get off of that. Maybe she just said that to make him happy. Maybe she just felt put on the spot. Or maybe he had fallen asleep on the train and this was all a wonderfully terrible or terribly wonderful dream.

"Serizawa…I'm glad that you said something because…I don't know. It's good to have everything out in the open, I guess. I'm glad that you were…brave…enough to say something. You've come a long way." said Reigen. She was proud of him, she really was, and maybe they could just focus on how far he had come and not where they were supposed to go from here.

"Thank you…that means a lot to me…coming from you. Do you…do you really feel the same? I didn't mean to put you on the spot or to make you feel like you had to-" said Serizawa

"Serizawa, you didn't make me say anything. I really do care about you…in that way. I feel the same and it's just…this is hard for me right now." Said Reigen softly. Honest. She was being honest. She was out of words, past the point of rambling, and now everything was out there in the open and they were just going to have to deal with this like the adults that they were.

She didn't want to deal with this like an adult.

She wished, then, that she was one of the kids. Things were so simple when you were that age. He liked you, you liked him, and then you held hands and declared yourselves to be a couple. Everything was so much more simple back then, looking back as a grown woman, even if the girls did make everything out to be more complicated than it had to be. If she and Serizawa were in middle school, or even high school, then this would have been simple. Him and her alone with their mutual confession between them…yeah. Fourteen year old Reigen Arataki would have just gone with this.

But she was not fourteen year old Reigen Arataki, she was twenty eight year old Reigen Arataki, and she had to think more than a couple hours into the future. Not that she had even the first idea of what she even wanted their future to be.

Relationships were hard.

But that was what she wanted with him. This was not about sex, it would have been so much easier if it had been about sex, but this was about feelings. Those things. Those things that she had been trying to divorce from…well….this. She had been running from even catching the ghosts of these feelings for almost her entire romantic life because they hurt. They hurt so much…as good as it felt when she started out it always ended in pain…

"Why? I mean…I know why. You're my boss, for one thing, and you could do so much better-" said Serizawa staring down at the rug. Dark blue. Same color as his socks. She didn't have socks on, just stockings, and she was digging her toes into the rug too. She stopped, though, suddenly and the bed beneath her creaked with the force of her looking up. At him. Right at him. He looked up more slowly. There was something in her eyes then, something that he had only seen once before. It made him sit up straighter, it made his aura crackle around them, and it took his breath away.

"Don't you ever say that! Ever. Serizawa, don't ever say that. You're a good man, Serizawa, and anyone would be happy to have you." Said Reigen. That was not what he was going to take away from this. Yes, she was his boss, but she could not do better than him. She could not even begin to imagine what, who, could possibly be better than him. What did he think, that she was waiting around for Prince Charming to ride up on his flying white horse and take her off to his castle in the sky? Well she wasn't. She wasn't waiting…anymore…and if she had been waiting she would have been waiting for a sweet man, a caring man, one who never gave up no matter what life threw at him. One who saved her life without even a thought. One who had seen her, seen her at her most confident, and her most terrified, and took her as she was. If she had to wait for someone it would have been for him.

"But it's the truth. I dropped out of school, and from the world, when I was twelve. I helped to take over the world…I followed Suzuki literally to the ends of the Earth….my best friends, besides you, are a bunch of kids-" said Serizawa

"And mine aren't? Serizawa, aside from you my only friends are those kids." Said Reigen

"Really?" asked Serizawa

"Yes. You are the only adult I spend any real time with. You're a great person and anyone would, and should, be happy to be with you. Yeah, you've had a hard life, but that doesn't diminish you in any way. You've done a lot of good in your life, Serizawa, you helped save the entire fucking world…and you saved my life. You saved my life that day…me and the kids. So what if you followed Suzuki? He was a manipulative psychopath. He manipulated a lot of people into following him, not just you, and when you realized that he was a monster you left him. You're a brave man, the bravest man that I have ever met, and I…I care about you for that. I care about you and I don't want to hear you talking down about yourself like that." Said Reigen

"…I just don't understand why you would like me…back. I just…I feel like you could find someone better than me…and I don't-" said Serizawa

"You're a person, Serizawa, not an appliance. There isn't just a better model sitting on the shelf waiting for me to buy. I don't think about people in terms of 'better' and 'worse' and I wish that you didn't, either. I don't care about what the other men out there are like, ok? I just…I like you. I feel this way about you and only you…and I haven't felt like this in so long. I haven't felt like this in so long and…and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I have no idea what comes…next." Said Reigen

"What do you want to come next? I want…I want whatever you want." Said Serizawa

"I don't know! I don't want to ruin what we have but I want….I don't know. I mean I know but…it's never worked out for me…and I don't want to ruin what we have." said Reigen

"…I don't understand. If we feel the same way about one another then…I mean I know that you're my boss and it's never a good idea to have a relationship with your boss…" Said Serizawa

"I'm your boss and you…you've been through so much…" said Reigen

"But I still want us to be…together…" said Serizawa softly

"….so do I." said Reigen just as softly

"So can we be…together? I mean…however you want us to be. I don't want to lose what we have, either, but I also want us to be…whatever you want us to be." Said Serizawa

"You don't have to put everything on me, you know, you're here too." Said Reigen bitterly

"I'm sorry-" said Serizawa

"I mean, that's a lot, you know? What do you want me to say? That I want to be your girlfriend? I have no idea what you want and if I just come out and say something like that without knowing what you want…and even if you did want that, too, there's no guarantee that what we have will go beyond this hotel room." Said Reigen

"What do you-?" asked Serizawa

"Because it's easy to say things like 'I like you' and 'I want to be with you' when you're in a room like this. When we're all alone, here, together it's easy to just say things. What about when this is over? What about when the sun comes back up and we have to leave this room?" asked Reigen

"Miss Reigen-" said Serizawa

"It's so easy to say things but what about afterwards. I just…I don't this to begin and end in this room. It's easy to say things when we have this room but when it's time to check out-" said Reigen

"What do you mean? Miss Reigen…I don't know what you mean. There was nothing easy about saying that to you. I've been wanting to say that to you since…since I don't know when. After I saved you, maybe, or after you saved me…or I don't even know. I do know that telling you how I feel was one of the most difficult things that I've ever had to do in my life. It was difficult but I had to say it because I just…I need closure. I want to be with you. I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to spend time with you. I want to be with you and I just…I don't know what you mean when you ask me what'll happen when we leave this room. In this room or outside of this room I'll still feel the same way about you." Said Serizawa. There was silence, now. Too much silence. She was looking down again. This did not suit her. She was loud and brash and confident. She always knew just what to do and say but now…he had never seen this side of her before.

It did not suit her.

"I don't know either. I just…to be honest I'm afraid. I know that you're not like that, you could never be like that, but part of me is just…afraid, I guess." Said Reigen

"Of me?" asked Serizawa

"No! Serizawa, not of you, never of you. I'm just afraid…I'm afraid that this is going to go like every single relationship I've ever had. Badly. It feels so good when you start out but keeping it together…if it even goes beyond this room, is something that I've never been able to do. That's why I don't do the whole 'girlfriend' thing anymore. That's why I've just…I haven't felt this way about anyone in years. I haven't let myself feel this way about anyone in years. I just…I don't want to wake up tomorrow and pick my clothes up off the floor and just…that'll be it." Said Reigen

"Oh…oh! You were talking about us…it's not about that! You're…it's more than that. You're pretty…very pretty…and I think that you're very attractive, also I think that you're beautiful-" said Serizawa wringing his hands and trying to pull words from the air. He was looking up at the ceiling, now, as if he was trying to find the right words in the light fixture.

"Thanks." Said Reigen with a small smile. This suited him, flustered. Nervous. Endearing. She was brought back to that message he sent her, the three simple words that had managed to make her come undone. 'You look pretty'. She reached up and played with a strand of her hair that had come loose from her ponytail. She crossed her legs at the ankles. She smiled, too, a small smile. As worried as she was, as heavy as the atmosphere was, he could still make her insides turn to jelly with a stutter and a blush…

"But it's not about…that. I mean…I've never…but it's not about that. I just want to be with you. I just…I want to spend time with you. I mean if you wanted to…but it's about more than that. So much more. I've never felt this way about someone, someone who was worth it, before. I've never felt this way about a woman before and it's…it's a little scary for me, too, but I want to…if you wanted to be with me then I wouldn't say no…and I would still be yours tomorrow, too, and the next day. As many days as you wanted me to be…yours." said Serizawa. He had thought about her like that before, even though he knew that he shouldn't have, but he still did. Nothing was going to happen. He had no idea how something would even begin to happen…and he was not about to go blundering his way through this now. Not now. Maybe not ever…the thought hurts. But if that was what she wanted…not now. Now was not the time for them to even begin to iron that out. He had no idea if the two of them were even a couple yet.

"Serizawa…" said Reigen. If he had been anyone else then she would have just walked right out of there. She did not like to be buttered up. From any other man that would have just been talk, the kind of sugary sweet talk that was designed for the purposes of getting her into bed, but he was not that sort of man. He was speaking with honesty, pure and utter honesty…

"If you want us to be a couple then that's…that would make me so happy…but if you didn't want us to be a couple then I'll accept that and we can go back to the way that things were. You know how I feel and I…I just want to make you happy." Said Serizawa

The ball was, once again, in her court. He was being honest, transparent, and she…she had to be, too. She had been. She had closed herself off to this for so long, preferring to have her fun and then leave before she could be left, but he…he wanted more than fun. He wasn't just saying that, dangling the hope of something more in front of her like a carrot. He meant it. He meant every word he said. All he wanted was her happiness…and that was the most beautiful thing that anyone had ever said to her.

He cared about her.

She cared about him.

For him…for him maybe she could try. He wasn't…he was himself. He was not lying to her. He had no ulterior motive besides wanting to make her happy. No motive beyond wanting to be with her. He didn't even want…he was a man, of course he wanted to sleep with her, but it went beyond that. She wanted him, too, in that way but for her it went beyond that.

He was waiting for her answer.

She took his hand.

"Serizawa…yes. My answer, so long as what we have goes…beyond this room…is yes. I want…I want to be with you, too. I want to be your girlfriend." Said Reigen. Her fingers were laced with his. He had stopped breathing. She could see it, his aura, glowing around him. Them. He looked at her like she was the answer to every prayer that he had ever said. He swallowed once, twice, then thrice.

"It-it will. I want…yes. I want this…too…but you already knew that." Said Serizawa

"Yeah, you made that perfectly clear." Said Reigen with a laugh. She didn't cover her mouth that time and for once Serizawa could see what she looked like when she was truly happy. She still held his hand. He held hers right back.

He held his girlfriend's hand.

Her hand was soft, so soft, and now he could really appreciate it. He ran his thumb across the side of her hand. So very soft…probably from the lotion she used. Maybe he should use some, too. Was his skin soft enough? She was the first woman that he had ever held hands with. He was not the first man…and that was fine. Really. A woman as wonderful as her…of course she had been in relationships before. She had even said so…and that those relationships had fallen apart…

This would not fall apart. He wouldn't let it.

He held her hand tighter. He would not let this fall apart. This relationship. His first relationship. His first REAL relationship. The President did not count…and she would have to be told about that…all of that…but not now. Not tonight. Tonight was…he had no idea what tonight was. This was not about sex, they had both made that clear, but the option was there…now. Not that he would even think of asking her of taking that option! No! Too soon! She needed time! He needed time! These things took time! He was holding her hand…and that was all that he would ask for. This was more than he could ever have asked for, before.

This was perfect.

But the question still hung in the air between them. That question that had been in the air between them for God only knew how long. Serizawa decided, then, that he should be the one to say it. Somebody had to.

"Miss Reigen….what do we-" asked Serizawa. Before he could even finish her ringtone could be heard wailing from her bag. Reigen let go of his hand and practically threw herself across the bed. Serizawa wondered if it was alright to look at her, now, because she was his…girlfriend…he loved that word! Girlfriend. She was his girlfriend and she had really nice legs and-

No. That is not what this is about. Stop it, Katsuya.

Reigen could feel his eyes on her. She knew that, maybe, she should have just walked around the bed. She reached behind herself and tugged her skirt down with one hand while she fished her phone out with the other. Oh. Mob.

Mob?

A thousand and one thoughts raced through Reigen's mind. Mob never called, always texted, and even then….she had given those three the day off…don't panic. Mob might just need some advice…or she might be lonely…or maybe Tome had finally gotten herself arrested…or maybe the office had burnt down again…

She took a deep breath and hit the answer button.

"Mob, what's up?" asked Reigen. Serizawa sat up a little straighter. Miss Kageyama? For a moment he's so worried that the room begins to shake. Did something happen? Was she ok? Were the others? There was so much that could happen to her…to all of them….

He eavesdropped maybe just a little bit.

"What? Why do you need…what? I gave you the day off. Mob…is that Tome? What are you three even-? No, no happy endings! Tome had better not even know what that…uh-huh….exorcism….just keep the money….what? Why were you in my…take those off, they were expensive….Mob, keep the money…divide it three ways….I don't need a cut…uh huh…Mob…Mob, I miss you too…uh huh…ok then. See you guys tomorrow." Said Reigen. She rolled over and sat up. Serizawa looked away from her, quickly, because he should not have been staring at her or eavesdropping.

"Those three, I swear…" said Reigen with a sigh. She had no idea what was happening but she knew it involved an exorcism, the girls taking way too much initiative, and a pair of her good work heels. Well at least she had a story coming to her, tomorrow.

But the girls didn't.

They had been 'shipping' her and Serizawa for a while now but, really, it was not their business. She cared about them, she really did, but she knew that if she told them what had happened they would have a million and one questions that she did not want to answer….and their minds would run away with them…not that their minds didn't already have a tendency of running away with them…

Nothing had happened, was happening, or was going to happen. Not that the girls would ever believe that.

"Wh-what happened? Are they alright?" asked Serizawa. They were so small and adorable…anything could have happened to them…even though Miss Kageyama was the most powerful being on Earth…

"They're fine, they just decided to use their day off to work. There's a story coming to us tomorrow, I can't wait." Said Reigen with a smile. Serizawa smiled, too, but it was tense. Right. What were they going to say to Miss Kageyama, Miss Kurata, and Miss Kurosaki? They would know something had happened when he and Miss Reigen came back from this…together…as in they were a couple…

"What do we…what do we tell them?" asked Serizawa. Reigen shrugged.

"Let them figure it out themselves. If we just go and tell them, well, then I'm going to have to field a lot of questions that I don't want to field right now. Plus, well, I don't want to give them the satisfaction of having been right about us. Not that this is a secret or anything! I just…I'll tell them if you want me to." Said Reigen

"That's not…I honestly think that they'll figure it out themselves…they seem good about things like this, knowing them I mean." Said Serizawa

"Yeah, you can't get anything past middle school girls." Said Reigen with a laugh. He didn't laugh, he just smiled. He smiled at her. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and blushed.

"So…." Said Serizawa. They were doing this. They were really doing this.

"Yes?" asked Reigen. They were doing this. They were really doing this. It much too early to be doing…that…but they were doing this. Whatever this was.

"You're my….girlfriend now…right?" asked Serizawa

"If you still want me to be, yes." said Reigen. His eyes were darting up to hers and then down to bed she was on. Then to his bed. Was he thinking….it was so early…and he had just said that he had never been with a woman before…so maybe he wanted get on with it…no. He's not like that. This is something more to him than…that.

"I do...I really do…and I just…can I ask you to do…something?" asked Serizawa

"S-Sure…" said Reigen. Even if he did ask her to…then what? It wasn't like she had never…

"Can I…I mean…is it ok if…" said Serizawa. He wrung his hands together. Was it ok to ask her this? She was his girlfriend, now, but…but this was still so new and so fragile…

"What's up?" asked Reigen. He was a grown man, of course he would want to…and she wanted to…so why not? She hadn't been this nervous since…since the first couple times…and that had been fifteen years ago….she was such a teenager right now.

"Can I…can I sit next to you? And hold your hand? Feel free to say no!" said Serizawa. He just wanted to…holding her hand had been so amazing…and she was so far away from him…even though she was just on the bed across from his…but now that he could be close to her…he wanted to.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Said Reigen with a blink. That was it? That was…well for him that was a lot. For her, too. Why was she so nervous? This was just hand holding. She was not fourteen anymore. She had done everything, so why did holding hands sent her heart beating up into her chest?

Serizawa took a deep breath, got up, and sat next to her. It took a moment, just a moment, for her to reach over and take his hand. Sweaty. His. Hers. They both forgot how to breath, for a moment, as they just…felt. Him. Her. Them.

She laced her fingers in his.

He squeezed her hand right back.

What was next? This. This was next.


	24. Bus Man's Holiday Part 1

Mob didn't quite know what to do with herself.

She usually had work today. She didn't work every single day, just most days, so to have a day off when she usually had work was…odd. Kind of like the first day of winter or summer break when she got up really early even though there wasn't any school to get up for but she was still used to it. She was used to going to work at this time and without work, well, she just did not know.

Her friends were spending time with their boyfriends, maybe she should do that.

Well Tome was, anyway, being the only friend she had with a boyfriend. She said that she had 'important personal matters' to attend to. That meant that she and Inukawa were going to be doing stuff. Couple stuff. Romantic stuff. The kind of stuff that Mob knew that she and Teru would never do. It was hard enough to get him to kiss her let alone…and she didn't even know if she wanted of that stuff, the kind of stuff that Tome talked about. Mob was fourteen, she knew about everything, and some things seemed nice, somethings seemed weird, and some things she knew that she was nowhere in the realm of ready for.

But it would have been nice to be able to figure out, for herself, what she was ready for without Teru being all 'I would never make you do anything like that'. Or maybe she should have been happier that he was like that, not pushy, because she had heard that boys could be very pushy. Mom always said that boys were only after one thing and Mob was finally old enough to know what that one thing was.

Mom also said that good girls did not even think about that sort of thing.

So maybe Mob was just weird. Or maybe not. Tome thought, and talked, about that sort of thing and so did Rei. Well Rei pretended that she didn't but she did. Mob just wished that Rei didn't think so much about Ritsu like that….ick. Rei was in love with him, which Mob had no problem with, but Rei also wanted to kiss and…other stuff…with Ritsu…and that was just…ick.

Because Ritsu was her little brother, and he was too little to even begin to think about those sorts of things, not that she didn't want him to be happy or anything like that.

Of course mob wanted Ritsu to be happy, he was her little brother, and Rei was one of Mob's best friends so of course she would be a good boyfriend for Ritsu. Then when Rei and Ritsu got married she and Mob would be sisters….which would have been just the best. Mob wished, when she was little, that she had a little sister but mom and dad said no. They said that another child would be too big of an expense, which made sense, but then Mob overheard them talking and mom said that she did not want to roll the dice on getting another Mob…

Which also made sense.

Even though Master Reigen said that it didn't. Master Reigen said, all those years ago, that she wished that she had another ten Mobs. She was always saying nice stuff like that. Well not that one time when they had that great big fight…but that was over and done with now. Sometimes people fought, even friends, and that was normal. She and Rei fought, a little, before…and Tome fought with everyone. Well not for real, that was just how Tome was. Mob missed her friends, occasional fights and all, and she wondered if it would be ok to…

Tome was busy with her boyfriend.

Rei was busy with the boy, one of the boys, who she wanted to be her boyfriend.

So Mob should be busy with her boyfriend, too.

Club was over, school was long over, so there was nothing stopping Mob from making the walk over to Black Vinegar, Teru's school. A lot nicer than hers. Bigger, newer, and the uniforms looked like actual clothes that people would maybe want to wear in daily life. They looked nice, the uniforms at Black Vinegar, or maybe Teru just made his look nice. He looked nice in everything.

Even red, sweaty, and covered in dirt he looked nice.

He was still at soccer practice. The walk to Black Vinegar was not so very long that Mob missed him. He had soccer some days, biking club others, and very rarely a day off. This was not one of those days, the days when he didn't have anything going on and she called off work and they held hands and walked and talked and went to the movies, too, sometimes because Teru really like movies and she liked whatever Teru liked...mostly just to see him happy. Like now he was happy, or at least he looked it, or at least Mob thought that he looked happy. Even if he was super red and super sweaty and super dirty, too. Mob didn't mind, not at all, which made no sense. He was all dirty and stuff but it was…weirdly nice. Seeing him like that. He was usually so very clean…but now he wasn't…and Mob did not get it. Why she felt like this just because he was all dirty from soccer practice.

Master Reigen could probably explain it to her.

Not that she was going to call Master Reigen and ask her. She and Serizawa were working, just working, and Mob didn't want to disturb them. Just working. They were not doing any of the stuff that Tome insisted that they would. Master Reigen didn't…well Mob knew that she did…and she did like Serizawa…and he probably liked her back…but it was too soon! Mob had never even seen them holding hands. It took her and Teru weeks to go from holding hands to kissing…and that was only after Mob could not take it anymore. Even Tome said that it took years for her and Inukawa to become a couple…then a while to go from kissing to…stuff. But maybe adults were different.

Mob did not want to ask Master Reigen that.

Because it was none of Mob's business what adults did. Even though it was weirdly fascinating, what they did. How they, according to what Mob had heard, just sort of…did it. With each other. Like it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing, it was everything. Doing something like that was one of, if not the, most important things that you could do with another person. That was why Mob wanted to…if she had to…it would be with Teru. He had changed for her, been there for her when they had to save Ritsu and the others, and had even saved the world with her. He cared about her and she cared about him and she knew that he wasn't one of those boys who only wanted to do…that. He said so.

And that he would never ask that of her.

So she wouldn't ask it of him. Even though she sort of…she wanted a lot of things that she knew that she should not have wanted. She also knew that she should have been happy with what she had, with who she had, but….well there was a lot more that she could have had. Did that make her selfish?

She wasn't going to ask.

And she was going to stop thinking about this.

"Hey! Shigeko!" Teru saw her. Well he probably felt her before he saw her. Her aura was bright, he had said, bright and pretty. He said that everything about her was pretty. He always had the nicest things to say to her, which felt nice, even though Master Reigen always said to be weary of boys who buttered you up, not literally. Mob wasn't weary of Teru, not at all, even if they did fight when they first met. They were past that now, him and her, and now they were a couple and it was so wonderful…

Even if they didn't do couple stuff.

Just being with him was wonderful. He was jogging over to her now and it was wonderful and she wanted more than anything to kiss him, to just run over and kiss him like in anime…but they were in public and that would have been too much.

"Hi Teru. I have the day off today so I thought that we could spend time together…if you want to, I mean. If you don't want to then I can go home and stuff. I mean if you're too busy with practice or you have plans with your other friends or-" said Mob as Teru jogged up to her. She sometimes couldn't stop talking when he was near her. Sometimes she had trouble talking and sometimes she talked too much. He probably thought that she was awkward and weird and-

"You. I want to spend time with you." Said Teru. He said it in the way that made her insides feel like they were made out of jelly.

"O-Ok. But what about practice? I mean I just wanted to see you, I don't want you to have to-" said Mob

"It's almost over anyway. Besides, I'd rather spend time with you." Said Teru. He took her hand, then, when he said that. He took her hand and she didn't mind that he was covered in sweat and dirt. This was…this was the closest that they ever got to couple stuff, plus kissing, and it was nice. It was just…nice.

What was with her?

She wondered that the whole time while Teru got his stuff together. She should have been happy about what she had. Also mom said that girls weren't supposed to think about stuff like that…but Master Reigen said that it was ok…this was so confusing. Feelings were confusing. She almost wished that she were at work just so that she wouldn't have to feel like…this. This mixture of nervousness and happiness and excitement and also a little bit of motion sickness.

She couldn't decide if it was a good feeling or a bad feeling.

Did it get any better? Could it get any worse?

She watched him. She watched the way the sun hit his hair and made it look even more yellow than normal. She watched the way he moved through his exercise clothes. She watched…she watched him. Stared. Well of course she stared, she stared at everything, but she especially stared at him. She was so busy staring that she didn't notice a shadow fall over her.

"Mob!" shouted Tome as she came up behind her. Mob jumped in the air and hovered there for a second. The ground underneath her shook.

"Oh. Tome. It's you…and Inukawa." Said Mob. Inukawa was kind of farther off looking down at his feet and shuffling. She waved to him, he waved back. He was nice, not great friends with Mob, but nice. Tome loved him, too, so that got him points in Mob's book. Well Tome hadn't said that she loved Inukawa but she must have. She talked about him, sometimes, or a lot depending on how one saw it.

"Well don't look too happy to see me or anything." Said Tome. She was loathe to come between Mob and her boyfriend, if anyone needed to get laid it was Mob, but this was a matter of the most pressing importance!

"I am happy to see you, Tome, but you scared me that's all." Said Mob simply. She was both happy and not entirely happy to see Tome. More mixed feelings. She wanted to spend time with Tome but she also wanted to spend alone with Teru…and stuff.

"Hello Miss….Kurata, was it? Lovely to see you again." asked Teru as he jogged back over, bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey Haystack, what's up? And for the last time it's Tome. Sheesh, are you always so polite." asked Tome. Teru colored a bit at the nickname. His hair had long grown back but he could not shake the memory of that damned wig!

"I wouldn't dream of being anything else, especially towards one of my girlfriend's dearest friends." Said Teru. Mob smiled and looked down at her shoes so nobody could see how red she was getting.

"I'm your dearest friend? Mob, I'm touched really….anyway! As your dearest friend I need a favor." Said Tome. Mob nodded. A favor could mean anything from lending, giving, Tome a few hundred yen to spending the night on her roof shivering and writing down telescope coordinates and findings all night.

"Are we having another sleepover?" asked Mob

"No. Well, maybe, but not now. Right now I need to borrow your key." Said Tome

"Which one? I have a lot of keys." Said Mob

"To the office…where else?" asked Tome

"I have house keys and-" said Mob

"Well I just need the office key! For…reasons." Said Tome. Her eyes shifted over to Inukawa. Mob followed her eyes and the wheels in her head started turning. She got the feeling that Tome didn't need to borrow the office key so get her charger.

"Are they important reasons?" asked Mob. She reached into her pocket and felt her keyring. Master Reigen trusted her with that key and she knew that she had to help her friend but she also knew that she could not abuse the trust that Master Reigen put in her.

"Can't Miss Reigen just let you in?" asked Teru

"Master Reigen and Serizawa are away today, that's why I have the day off." Said Mob. Teru was looking at her, now, and she liked it. She couldn't place the way that he was looking at her but she liked it.

"So your office is…empty?" asked Teru, his voice kind of low, there, the sort of low that made her inside feel like jelly. She felt a nervous sort of giggle rising in her throat. She stopped herself from laughing, though, because it made no sense. She had nothing to laugh at then.

"Yes." said Mob simply. That was the truth, a simple truth, but she was getting a lot of looks, now. She liked the long ones she got from Teru. Tome, on the other hand, gave her a look like her teacher did when she couldn't solve the equations on the board.

"Which is why I need to borrow the key." Said Tome slowly. Her eyes went over to Inukawa a few times. Mob got it. She got it and she turned red, a bright sort of red, not that she could see her own face but she could feel it.

"Tome….Master Reigen said that I have to hold onto the key at all times. She said that she was putting all of her trust in me…and I don't want break her trust." Said Mob softly

"Then just come along and open the door for me. You could, you know, show your boyfriend around…" said Tome. She didn't know how much clearer she could make herself. She wiggled her eyebrows and did a bunch of motions. Mob was superhumanly bad at reading the atmosphere.

"Teru's been to the office before." Said Mob

"Really? He's seen everything? Even the…backroom?" asked Tome

"Yes. I gave him a tour a while ago back when we first got the new office." Said Mob

"Not…recently…though. I mean, if you want me to come…with! Come with! That is." Said Teru. Mob really felt like there was something that she was not getting. She knew, reasonably, why Tome wanted to go with her boyfriend to the empty office but why would Teru want to-

Oh.

OH.

Ok.

"….sure. I can…I can do that…" said Mob. So this was what she was spending her day off doing. She was spending her day off at work…but not working…but still at work…when she wasn't supposed to be. But this was fine. She would just open the door and show Teru around and maybe even…kiss him…again….

Yes. This would be fine.

But there was no reason that Master Reigen needed to know about this blatant misuse of the office key.


	25. Bus Man's Holiday Part 2

It was weird being in the office without Master Reigen around.

The office was quiet, too quiet, and it smelled weird too. Stale incense. Stale green tea. It was weird. Usually Master Reigen was at her desk or in the exorcism/curse removal/massage/nap room and Serizawa was either at his desk or doing something. Rei's absence was also felt. Had she been around she would have been playing music or crafting something or working on homework or even talking about how much she liked Ritsu.

Mob would have even taken hearing how much Rei liked Ritsu, she always denied that she LIKED him but it was obvious, over what she was hearing now.

"Seriously?! In what universe is that something I like?!" shouted Tome from the exorcism/curse removal/ massage/nap room. Mob closed her eyes and shook her head. Tome had, thankfully, put some music on. Not that Mob didn't have a good idea of what was going on…

She did. She really did.

She didn't think that it was a bad thing or anything like that. No, she was glad that Tome had found love, she just wished that she didn't have to hear it. She couldn't just leave, either, because she was the one with the key.

The water stopped running in the bathroom.

Also her boyfriend was there.

Mob knew that they weren't going to do the things that Tome and Inukawa did…not for a while…if ever…but she did want to do…something. Kiss him. Kissing Teru was the best feeling ever. Better than getting a rare coin machine toy or dodging the blue shell in Mario Kart or getting to braid Master Reigen's hair. She wanted to kiss Teru, and often, but she wasn't sure about all the things that came next.

Not that she was one hundred percent opposed to those kinds of things.

"Well I suppose that this is as good as it gets." Said Teru as he came out of the bathroom. He said that he had to freshen up, which apparently meant clean off the dirt and sweat and stuff, which was nice of him…not that Mob had minded. But he minded, he liked to be clean like that.

He sat down next to her on the office couch.

She had been sat next to before. She had even had Teru sit next to her before. There was something here, now, that was different. The atmosphere was different. There was an expectation hanging over them, here, in this atmosphere. At least that was how Mob was reading it. Mob knew that she was notoriously bad at reading the atmosphere but here, it seemed, with the music floating in from the other room in an attempt to cover up what was happening in there, what could have been happening to Mob…

Teru ran a hand through his hair.

Mob wondered, then, if she should have freshened up too. Was her hair messy? Did she smell weird from working out in during club? She sat up a little straighter as he flopped down next to her. They sat there for a moment.

Mob straightened out the pleats in her school skirt.

"I…I think you look nice, Teru." Said Mob softly. The moment had dragged on for too long, it seemed, and she had to say something. She wanted to tell him that she liked him all sweaty and covered in dirt but he wouldn't want to hear that. He liked to look nice and stuff. He cared so much about how he looked and Mob just did not get it. Of course he looked good no matter what. He was Teru.

"You too. You look so pretty, Shigeko. So damn pretty…" Said Teru. He brushed a lock of her hair out of her face. His hand lingered in her space. She began to shift in place. She could feel his eyes on her. Blue. His voice trailed off at the end. Low and deep and slow as syrup but so good…

His hand met hers.

She closed her fingers around his.

"So…this is what it's like in here during afterhours." Said Teru

"I don't know if it counts as afterhours if I didn't have any work today…I could always ask Master Reigen…but not now. I don't want to bother Master Reigen right now….I want to be here with you." Said Mob. Teru scooted closer to her. She let him. She tried to remember how to breathe. He was so close.

He smelled like bathroom soap.

"I want to be with you too…" said Teru. Mob nodded. He said it, again, in the deep and low sort of way. Mob could have gotten lost in him, in his voice, in his presence. He drowned out what was happening, it seemed, and she dove right into him. Or at least she wanted to.

She had asked him to kiss her, before, and that had been so hard…

"Is this alright?" asked Teru. He let go of her hand and put it around her shoulders. Mob nodded. She needed to remember how to breathe. He had been close and now he was even closer still. She swallowed, her throat was getting tight. He was so close, so very close, and she wanted him to be even closer still…

She shifted in place.

"This is alright…but you can be closer if you want to be…" said Mob. She wondered if she had said the right thing. She often said the wrong thing, often embarrassed herself, and the thought of embarrassing herself around Teru would be just awful…just the thought of it would be awful. If she had actually embarrassed herself, well, that would have been something terrible beyond all measure.

"Like this?" said Teru. He was pulling her closer, now. She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. She could smell him, now, the way he really smelled. Underneath the smell of bathroom soap. Underneath the smell of stale body spray. Underneath all of it, like getting to the bottom layer of an onion…or a cake. Cake was better. She liked cake better. Cake batter. Warm cake batter. That was how he made her feel, like her insides were full of warm cake batter.

"Sorry if I still smell like soccer practice. I would have gone home to take a shower but this opportunity…to be with you! That's all I want is to be with you. I would never push you to do…anything. Even what they're doing…I mean if you ever…but of course you don't…so really we don't have to do anything. We can just sit here. I wouldn't mind just sitting here with you and talking about whatever." Said Teru. Mob frowned. She wasn't one hundred percent opposed to…that…or even the things that were adjacent to…that.

She didn't want to do it right then but she had nothing against it. The idea of it.

"We can…we can sit here and talk if you want to…or we can…um…" said Mob. She saw Teru's aura flare out and she mentally begins running through all of the ways that she could take back what she said. Oh no. She had probably said the wrong thing and-

"Whatever you want! Sorry, I'm sorry. I mean that we can do whatever you want. We can go forwards or backwards or just stay in place. I am not pushing you to do anything, anything at all. I mean I don't want you to think that I'm pushing you…because I'm not. I'm not that kind of guy anymore." Said Teru

"You're not pushing me at all, Teru, but I don't want to push you either…" said Mob softly. He traced circles on her shoulder. She melted into his touch. She wanted…she wanted a lot of things.

"You? You could never push me into doing anything that I didn't want to do. I mean, ok, you make me work for who I am but in a good way. I mean you make me a better person than I used to be and I am just so...thank you for that. For making me work for who I am…who I want to be. That's a weird way to put it but that's just how I…feel I guess. I mean you make me feel a lot…a lot of things. Good things. Just…the way I feel about you is so…it's so much more than I have ever felt before and…and…" said Teru softly. He spoke so softly and quietly that Mob could barely hear him. She had to lean in close, so close, to hear him. She was close enough that she could feel him breathing as he talked…

"And?" asked Mob just as softly

"And I really want to kiss you right now." Said Teru. Mob leaned in closer. She waited for him to close the gap between them. He had been so close to her, before, and he had just said it but…but she didn't like to be the one to make it happen.

She liked it better when he led.

And he did.

He leaned in and kissed her. it was a quick kiss. Not long and sloppy and noisy like she could hear Tome kissing her boyfriend. Not super long and deep like she had seen on TV. Just quick and short but so nice and perfect and she wanted so badly for him to do it again-

And he did.

Just as quick but just as nice.

Then again. Again and again and again over and over again until her face was red and the entire room was floating and she could feel a giggle rising in her throat and it seemed like the more she tried to stop it's ascent the stronger it got until it managed to jump out in the space between kisses…but it wasn't a bad thing because he laughed too. He laughed with her, not at her, and that just made her laugh more…and then he laughed more…and it was the best sound ever when he laughed…

But it was broken, soon, by the sound of a door slamming opened.

"I can't believe your stupid cram school…so what if you skipped one day? It's not like it'll kill you…" muttered Tome. She stomped her way out of the storage room, Inukawa trailing behind her. Mob tried not to notice just how disheveled they both were. Tome tucked her school shirt in as she stomped her way through the room.

"I know…I'm sorry but my mom says that I have to go home right now and-" said Inukawa. He didn't even try to make eye contact with Mob or Teru, something of which she was grateful for. She disentangled herself from Teru and began to smooth down her hair. She tried her best, too, to put down everything that she had picked up with her powers.

"Fine. Whatever. I see where your loyalties lie!" said Tome as she pointed out the door. There was a moment of silence.

"Call me tonight, ok?" asked Tome. Inukawa nodded and goodbyes were said. Tome walked him down the stairs and out the door. Mob sat next to Teru but did not dare kiss him again. Some people could kiss with an audience but Mob was not one of them.

"So…" said Teru

"Yes?" asked Mob

"That was…I mean you were really good." Said Teru. Mob blushed and looked down at her shoes.

"Do you mean it?" asked Mob. She knew that he had kissed girls beside her. it hurt to think about that but it was something that she knew and she knew that she would have to learn to live with. He liked her, he was her boyfriend, and she shouldn't have been worried about some other girls that she didn't even know the names of…and did not care to know the names of or anything at all about them. Master Reigen was lucky, Serizawa hadn't ever had a girlfriend besides her. That was if she and Serizawa were even becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. They probably were. Trips like that always ended in a relationship upgrade in manga and anime and stuff.

"Of course I do." Said Teru. He leaned in to kiss her and Mob hesitated for a moment. Maybe Tome had decided to head home and get caught up on some games or homework or something like that…

But she hadn't.

Tome practically stomped up the stairs and across the room. She paid Mob and Teru no mind as she crossed the room and tossed herself down into Master Reigen' chair. She spun around a few times but didn't look that happy. Mob looked at Teru, then Tome, and then down at her shoes. She wanted to keep kissing but…how did it go?

Sisters before misters?

At least that was how Master Reigen put it. One time they were out on a job and some guy that Master Reigen knew, but not a real boyfriend she said, had wanted to spend time with her. Mob offered to take the bus home but Master Reigen told her that it went sisters before misters and then they finished the job and got ramen on the way home.

Master Reigen was full of all kinds of wisdom like that.

"Tome? Are you ok?" asked Mob. Tome shrugged but kept on spinning slowly in Master Reigen's chair. Mob wanted to say something about that being Master Reigen's chair and her not liking people messing with it but she decided that then was not the time. After all they were using the office for things that were definitely not safe for work so what was one more bad thing?

Mob would go to Costco with her mom and pick up an apology cake later.

"I don't know what's with him sometimes…" said Tome softly as she spun around. Teru cleared his throat.

"Well I'll just leave you two ladies to…this. I'll text you later…or call…or facetime. Whatever you want, Shigeko." Said Teru. Mob was sad to see him go, and was about to tell him to stay, but her friend needed her and she needed to be a good friend…

It was hard being a friend and a girlfriend at the same time.

But Mob managed.

"Inukawa loves you, I think, or at least he really likes you. I mean you guys do a lot of stuff so he must care about you a lot. I mean I heard that boys did would do things like that with anyone but that always seemed like it was kind of mean…and Inukawa doesn't seem like that anyway." Said Mob. Tome just kept on spinning slowly. Mob was worried, a little, that Tome was going to make herself motion sick.

"We're barely ever alone together and then his mom calls and he just goes running…" said Tome

"Well if he didn't go back to his mom then he'd have gotten in big trouble. I mean we have to listen to our parents…they're our parents and we're just kids. You'll see him tomorrow though! In club or in class, your class, and maybe you could even go to the empty science classroom on the third floor. I think if I asked Ritsu not to patrol by there-" said Mob

"Don't ask your brother to do anything. He won't listen to you anyway and he'll probably just patrol there specifically to catch me." Said Tome

"Yeah…Ritsu cares a lot about his job…" said Mob

"He's a vindictive little shit." Said Tome. Mob frowned. She knew that Tome didn't always get along with Ritsu but there was no reason at all to be mean to him.

"That's mean, Tome." Said Mob trying not to sound as mad as she felt. Tome was just hurt and sometimes when people were hurt or cornered their mouths ran away from them. That was how Master Reigen explained it after they made up from that awful fight that they had.

"Yeah whatever…" said Tome. She kept on spinning and spinning faster and faster until she bumped up against the desk and fell out of hair chair. Mob caught her before she could hit the ground. Tome may have said something mean but she was still Mob's friend and Mob would not let her friend get hurt.

Mob sat Tome down on the ground and fixed Master Reigen's office chair. She expected Tome to sit in it and get back to spinning but instead she was rooting around under Master Reigen's work desk. Mob was about to tell her that Master Reigen didn't like it when they went through her things but Tome beat her to it.

"Don't say something like 'Reigen hates it when we snoop' or anything like that, ok? I'm not going through her desk…just under it…" said Tome

"Ok, I guess that's ok…what are you looking for?" asked Mob

"Whatever's down here….like…these!" said Tome as she pulled out a dusty pair of high heeled shoes from the dark void that was the underside of Master Reigen's desk. Mob recognized those shoes. Master Reigen had kicked those off in anger one day because the heels were uneven and they pinched her toes really badly.

"Master Reigen says that those shoes are terrible." Said Mob. Tome waved her hand and tsked before she kicked her own shoes off and slipped Master Reigen's heels on.

"You shouldn't wear those, Master Reigen might get mad." Said Mob. Also shoes were only supposed to be worn by their owners.

"Eh, whatever. She's got a million pairs of shoes here anyway." Said Tome as she tried to walk. She was taller, then, which Mob didn't think was totally necessary. Tome was already taller than her by a few dozen centimeters. Mob didn't understand high heeled shoes at all. Master Reigen said that they hurt her feet and left little marks on the backs of her heels. She said that they took some practice to get used to walking in, too, which Mob didn't get. Why would you wear shoes you needed to practice in? Regular shoes were very user friendly.

Judging by how much Tome was teetering those shoes were not at all user friendly and she needed more practice. Mob tried to steady her with her powers.

"Mob, cut it out. I've got this. This is easy." Said Tome. Mob knew that she needed to help Tome but Tome said that she didn't need any help…so she stopped helping…even though Tome needed help…

"Really, I don't know what Reigen's always complaining about, this isn't that bad. I am not a kid anymore." Said Tome. Mob nodded. She knew that feeling. She didn't feel like a kid all the time either. That didn't matter much, though, because until the law said that they were adults they were kids and at the mercy of adults.

"Really, Mob, this isn't that…BAD!" said Tome. She began to teeter even worse than before and Mob tried to catch her as best as she could. She kept Tome from falling down, which was good, but before she could fully steady Tome there was a loud cracking sound…and then Tome started to go down. Mob saved Tome, of course, but Master Reigen's shoe on the other hand…

"Aw….fuck." said Tome. Mob agreed with the sentiment but did not curse.

They were in enough trouble as it was.


	26. Bus Man's Holiday Part 3

Rei did not have a learning disability.

She didn't know why Ritsu thought that. So she had been letting her grades slip a little so that she would have an excuse to talk to him and to spend time with him, it wasn't like she was failing out of school or anything like that. No, she just needed a little help in math and literature and history and Japanese. Her parents didn't need to get so worked up over her grades like they had been lately and they certainly didn't need to threaten to ground her.

The only reason that they hadn't was because she said that she was going to tutoring afterschool.

Which she sort of was. She was sitting at Ritsu's kitchen table with a bunch of books in front of them. Just her, him, and the books. All alone in a big empty house. His parents were at work so that meant that his mom wasn't around to stick her nose up in the air and do that snobby person sniff thing that she did and his dad wasn't there to sit at the table with them and make dad jokes, really bad dad jokes, and laugh at them like he was the funniest guy in Japan. Even Mob wasn't around. She was probably with her boyfriend. So was Tome. Everyone had a boyfriend but her….

It wasn't fair.

"….so just divide out the x and then plug it into the equation there to find the slope…" said Ritsu. Rei nodded and pretended to listen. She knew how to find the slope intercept whatever already. She just needed an excuse to be alone with him. She didn't understand him one bit. She was there, they were alone, and she thought that she was sending out very clear signals that she was into him.

She smiled at him a lot. When you liked a guy you had to smile and giggle and play with your hair a lot. Go had gotten it and so had Takeshi, back when she had gone out with them. Ritsu was a thousand times smarter than both of them put together. Why wasn't he getting it?

She had baked him cookies. She had baked him perfectly round cookies, there was this food hack where if you baked them in a cupcake tin they out totally round and also she had used malted milk, something that was super hard to find, to make the cookies soft and chewy and kind of nutty…and it had only taken her trying out cookie food hacks for hours to try and get them just right…

She had worn bright red lipstick, which the internet said clearly meant 'I want to kiss you'. Which she did. She had wanted to kiss him since the day she had first met him back when he showed up at the Awakening Lab…and that was even before she knew how wonderful he was. He had saved her life so many times. He had been there for her when she was scared and thought that she was going to be kidnapped…or killed even…and then on that day when the world almost ended….he had been there for her.

She had worn her skirt rolled up and the top two buttons of her school skirt were undone. She had seen the older girls, her sister and her friends, roll up their skirts and undo their top buttons on the way to school and Rei could think of no clearer way to tell Ritsu that she wanted to kiss…and maybe some of that stuff that came after kissing…maybe. She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure if she wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure what all of those things were. She knew that there was a difference between stuff she had read and stuff that people did but she had no idea what that difference was…and she wanted to figure it out…with Ritsu.

"….and then that's pretty much it." Said Ritsu. Rei nodded and tried to look interested. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Some modernist thing made out of metal on black wood, so joyless. That was what his mother considered design? Well when she and Ritsu got their starter home she would not let it go to crap like this…not that she would ever insult her mother-in-law's decorating to her face.

"Ritsu, you're so smart." Said Rei with a sigh, the breathy sort of thing that pretty much told the guy 'take me, I'm yours!' or something like that.

"Not really, and don't feel bad about yourself, Rei. Even if you have trouble learning things you have other talents." Said Ritsu. Rei tried to keep her face from falling. Right. Thanks to her brilliant plan he thought that she had some kind of learning disability…not that there was anything wrong with that! She just…maybe should have thought her plan through better.

"I don't…well sometimes school is kind of hard for me but you're there to help so…thank you. For everything." Said Rei. She held eye contact with him. He broke it first, and not like he was nervous either, like he wanted to get back to work.

They were alone together and all he wanted to do was homework?

Was it her? Even if he didn't like her back he was still a guy. She knew how guys were. Guys were supposed to be a thousand times worse than girls about these sorts of things and she knew how she was so…it must have been something about her. Maybe she wasn't his type…maybe he didn't think that she was pretty or…or anything….

"You're welcome. Anything for one of sister's friends. Do you want to work on more math or get started on Japanese?" asked Ritsu. Rei wanted to pick up her math book and slam it over her head over and over again, or maybe his to knock some sense into him. What did he want, a written invitation? 'Ritsu, kiss me already' in perfect kanji?

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

She reached over and put her hand over his. There, how much clearer could she possibly get?

"Um…Rei?" asked Ritsu. Ok, now he was nervous. Nervous was good. Guys that got nervous were guys who were interested. Go had been nervous, so had Takeshi. Guys didn't grow out of it either if Serizawa and the time he spilled and entire cup of tea on his lap because Reigen took off her suit coat and she was wearing the lacy white top with the dark colored bra underneath was anything to go off of.

"We can take a break if you want to." Said Rei. Her hand was still over his. He made no move to hold her hand back. None at all. Maybe he was nervous. Mob said that he had never had a girlfriend before. Yes, that must have been it!

"We should really get back to work if we want to get done before my mom gets home." Said Ritsu. He pulled out her Japanese workbook and handed it over to her. Maybe she had pushed him too far. But that didn't make sense. She knew that going too fast was how she had messed up with Go, and Takeshi, but that didn't make any sense. Ritsu was mature. He was a mature guy and there was no reason that he wouldn't want to kiss her and do all of that other stuff that came afterwards and be her boyfriend and all of that. None at all. She was pretty and nice and a whole lot of other things…but apparently not the things that he liked. What did he like? She had no idea. They went to different schools so it wasn't like she could observe him…and she wasn't about to ask Mob that…

"I can't believe that our schools use the same book. That makes this easier, anyway, since we're at about the same place. This part is kind of hard but-" said Ritsu. The last thing that she wanted to do, then, in that moment was her stupid homework. She was so rarely alone, totally alone, with him…or any guy for that matter. She was not wasting this opportunity. She was not hanging out with Mob and Tome and listening to Tome talk about her and her boyfriend and then she would get Mob talking about her boyfriend and Reigen and Serizawa would have gotten together and then she would be the only one without a boyfriend and she'd die alone with a bunch of cats eating her face just like her sister had said and even Riko had a bunch of boyfriends and-and-and-

She tried to hold his hand again.

He still didn't hold hers back.

"Rei…um…I think that you're really nice and…and I don't dislike you…I really don't! The thing is, Rei, I-" said Ritsu. Rei stopped listening after he said that he didn't dislike her! That was progress!

"I don't dislike you either, Ritsu, actually I…I like you…a lot." Said Rei. There. She had just come out and said it. It was hard saying that, being so direct, but maybe she needed to be direct. Maybe because he never had a girlfriend he couldn't tell that she liked him…that must have been it….

"Rei…I-" said Ritsu. He was going to say it. He was going to say that he liked her and that he wanted to kiss her and then come the next time she went to hang out at Sprits and Such she wouldn't be the only one without a boyfriend! She held onto his hand, her fingers laced with his, and she leaned forward. There was no clearer way to say 'get a clue and kiss me Ritsu' than that. Hell, she was about to say it out loud.

"How could you call Reigen?! Now she's going to know that something's up! And my happy endings idea was a good one!" the door was thrown opened and the house shook. Rei immediately let go of Ritsu's hand and held a book as close to her face as possible.

"Well she said that we could accept the job and keep the money. All we need to do after that is go to the store and get Master Reigen a new pair of shoes. That'll be easy." Oh no. Mob was home. Mob and…Mob and Tome were hanging out without her!? Wait, no, they went to the same school. This wasn't like that time when she thought that she was friends with those girls from class 1-4 but they didn't even like her and made fun of her behind her back….but her real friends were not like that…

"I am not working on my day off! Mob, I have a better idea. We just see if your mom has similar shoes and then-" said Tome

"I thought that we were going to look for money in the couch cushions. We can't steal shoes from my mom, she'll be upset and also stealing is wrong." Said Mob. Rei could see her from her space in the dining room. Ritsu was hiding under a book, too. It was awkward…because this was her friend's little brother and they had been ten seconds away from making out right there…

"Well if you could use your powers to fix them so they weren't so damn uneven-" said Tome

"I did my best. Things like to be back together but not always perfectly." Said Mob. Rei could see her and Tome rifling through the couch cushions. She wondered, then, if she could spontaneously develop invisibility. Right. This was her friend's little brother…

"So you can put skyscrapers back together but shoes are too hard?" asked Tome

"No, most of those are still structurally unsound, the city says….and anyway I don't think that we'll find much money in the couch. We should just take the job, Tome, even if it is our day off." Said Mob. Rei's ears perked up. Job? A job without Reigen…they had never done a job without Reigen. Reigen had always been there even when she let Rei tell people's futures…

"….fine…but only if I can keep what I found in your couch!" said Tome

"What did you find?" asked Mob

"Forty yen, a heart shaped button, and a pink hair tie." Said Tome

"I need the button for my sweater but you can keep the other stuff." Said Mob

"Deal. Anyway, come on, let's get this done with so we can go have fun. Anyway I'm gonna raid your fridge really quick." Said Tome. Rei ducked down and put her book on top of her head.

"Ok but don't drink all but one last drop of soda pop this time, my mom got mad…last…time…" said Mob as she crossed the dining room. Rei took the book off of her head and waved.

"Hey…Mob." Said Rei quietly. Mob was staring at her, now. Her eyes darted between her and Ritsu like she was one of those cat clocks with the eyes that swished back and forth.

"Hi…sister…and Kurata…" said Ritsu as Tome came out of the kitchen with a block of cheese in her hand. She picked off a piece and ate it thoughtfully, it seemed. Rei made eye contact and Tome gave her a look.

"Rei…did we have plans?" asked Mob

"No…Ritsu was just helping me with my homework…that's all." Said Rei quickly. Ritsu was looking anywhere but at her. Mob just looked thoughtful. She was reading the titles of the books on the table almost like she needed confirmation. Rei didn't know why she was so nervous, well she did, but she shouldn't have had to be. Tome was always saying that shaming was wrong, and Reigen agreed, but this was her friend's incredibly cute and brave and sweet and mature and smart little brother…

"I have…things to do…in my room. Sister. Kurata. Re-Kurosaki." Said Ritsu. Rei frowned. Too polite. They didn't have to be…he had called her by her given name before…but now she was Kurosaki again. Damn it! She had made so much progress on that front and now…well there was always next time…even though she had no idea when they'd be alone again…

"So Mob and I are going on a solo job because we broke a pair of Reigen's unnecessarily expensive and impractical work shoes and we'll just leave you to…Mob's little brother. Have fun, tell me how it goes. First call, you got it?" said Tome

"I-I wasn't-" said Rei. She looked into the future. Mob wasn't mad at her, which was good, and it looked like the best outcome of this day would be if she went with them…because she and Ritsu were going nowhere fast….

"Are you in love with my brother? I mean really in love with him, not just liking him a whole lot." Said Mob

"Um…I really like him but I don't know if-" said Rei. Well now that was too much. She didn't know if she was in love with…he had saved her life so many times…and he hadn't even been scared once…

"Would you ever break his heart?" asked Mob

"No! I would never, ever, ever do anything to hurt Ritsu! I…I really like him a lot and I want to be with him all the time…but I would never do anything to hurt him…" said Rei

"You know, Mob, if you stop cock blocking Rei and she ends up with your little brother you guys would be sisters." Said Tome. Mob chewed on that for a long moment.

"….I've always wanted a sister. Ok. You can marry Ritsu." Said Mob

"Um…ok…sure." said Rei for lack of anything else. Well she could tell Mob that she was thirteen and not about to go making choices like that right then and there but she was not going to get into all of that right then.

"Well it looks like you're going to be pretty busy over here for a while so…come on, Mob, let's go make some money!" said Tome

"Wait! Take me with you." Said Rei

"No way am I splitting the money three ways. We're already using most of it to get Reigen a new pair of unwearable shoes." Said Tome

"Rei can come if she wants to." Said Mob. She was hard to read, sometimes, and very overprotective when it came to Ritsu. But this was good. She wouldn't have to agonize over how to break it to Mob that she and Ritsu were going to be a thing now…if they even were.

She checked the future.

Still nope.

But at least this job would go reasonably well…


	27. Bus Man's Holiday Part 4 :The Conclusion

Mob did not want to eat cat food.

She liked cats, they were loyal and fluffy and soft and the purest creatures to exist in this world but she did not want to eat their food.

"That's the only option, Mob, since nothing even the least but supernatural is happening. You've just got to eat can after can of cat food until you smell enough like cat food that the cat comes to you." Said Tome as she held out a can of cat food that promised that it was made out of filet mignon and lobster.

"But I don't want to eat the cat food." Said Mob. They were at the job, now. It was at a nice old lady's house. She welcomed them into her home with tea and hard candy and told them a very long story about how things were when she was their age. Then she pinched their cheeks and told them that their little psychic agency was adorable. Then she pointed them to the crawl space under her house where the spirit was.

But Mob hadn't felt a spirit.

"I don't want to play rock paper scissors again, it was too close that time. Besides I can't eat the cat food because I'm allergic to… butylated hydroxyanisole…." Said Rei as she read the can in Tome's hand. She brushed her hair out of her face. Ruined. Hours of work ruined because they all had to go crawling in the crawl space after some spirit…which had turned out to just be a stray cat….a very fast stray cat…

"I dare you to read it again." said Tome with a laugh. She wondered if she could record it and play it back for Mob's little brother. Was Rei at the point, yet, where she was pretending that she couldn't read?

"I totally am! It makes me…um…die…" said Rei. Mob gasped.

"I didn't know that about you, Rei. Tome, be careful!" said Mob. Tome hit herself over the head with the can of pilfered cat food.

"You eat the cat food if you're so in favor of this plan." Said Rei. She didn't see why one of them needed to eat it. Wouldn't opening a can and leaving it at the entrance of the crawlspace be easier and less…disgusting?

"I'm the leader and I decide who eats the cat food." Said Tome

"Why does somebody even have to eat the cat food in the first place? Why do we have to eat cat food? I don't want to eat cat food." Said Mob

"Someone needs to eat the cat food so that they, eventually, smell enough like cat food that the cat will come to them. How many times do I have to explain the plan? See, this is why I'm the leader, I'm the only one here coming up with ideas!" said Tome

"Wait, why are you the leader? Mob should be the leader, she's been working for Reigen the longest. Also she's the most powerful and she wouldn't try and make any of us eat cat food." Said Rei

"I don't want to be the leader and I don't want to eat cat food either." Said Mob

"See? She knows that she's totally unsuited for the power and responsibility of a leadership positon." Said Tome. Somebody had to make the tough calls around there. Sure they could have just left a bunch of cans of cat food out for the cat but then they'd miss out on the hilarity of one of them eating cat food. Besides, it wasn't like it was poisonous or something, not at all, Tome bought the premium stuff specifically for that reason.

"Well then can I be the leader?" asked Rei

"On what grounds?" asked Tome

"The grounds that I would have come up with a plan that didn't involve eating cat food." Said Rei

"I nominate Rei on the grounds that I don't want to eat cat food." Said Mob

"Well Mob you wouldn't have to eat the cat food if you would just use your powers to drag that cat out so we could collect the money already and fix Reigen's shoes before she finds out and exorcises us while we're still alive." Said Tome

"I can't drag the cat out…that would be mean…" said Mob. That poor cat. If it were up to Mob the cat would have been left in peace to make weird noises and stuff to it's heart's content. Unfortunately they needed the money and the needs of the client trumped the needs of a cat…even though that was in no way fair to the cat.

"So come on, while we're young." Said Tome. There was more scratching and yowling from the crawlspace. Poor cat. Tome liked cats, she wasn't on the crazy cat lady path in life like Mob was,

"Wait, I thought that I was the leader now." Said Rei

"Yeah. I vote for Rei." Said Mob

"Ok, fine, Rei can be leader. What's your big plan, oh great leader?" asked Tome. Rei's aura was visible for a moment. Orange, like orange soda colored. Not as bright as Mob's, though. Not that Tome was jealous or anything.

"Um…wait for the cat to come out on it's own. It will…eventually…and then we can take it to the no kill shelter where it'll be adopted and live a long and happy life." Said Rei

"Uh-huh, and how long is that going to take?" asked Tome

"Hours." Said Rei.

"By that time it'll be dark out!" said Tome checking her phone. Mom said that if she missed curfew one more time she'd be in for it. That could mean something as light as a lecture or something as terrible as a grounding. Either way they had a job to do and they were going to do it! Even if meant one of them eating cat food! Because it was both pragmatic and hilarious.

"Um….in that case we can…" said Rei. She looked into the future as best as she could. She knew that they had to go back into the crawlspace, it was their best bet for getting the cat out, but she did not want to go back down there not even for all the money in the world. It was dark and gross and full of bugs and spiders.

"We can call Sho, he knows about animals." Said Mob pulling out her phone. She went into her contacts and scrolled down to Sho's picture. Well a picture of Sho's hamster, anyway.

"You have Sho's number?" asked Rei in a tone that Mob could not place. Mob nodded and showed Rei her contacts list.

"I thought you were madly in love with Mob's little brother…or you at least wanted in his pants." Said Tome rolling her eyes. Rei had the worst taste, the absolute worst, when it came to guys. Mob's younger brother and his annoying friend. Sheesh.

"Hey! I do not! I just think he's…great. He's a great guy and he's nice and smart and-" said Rei

"I'm calling Sho." Said Mob. She loved Ritsu, she really did, and she knew that if any girl had to like Ritsu Rei was the best girl to do so, but she did not want to hear about how in love Rei was with Ritsu. Really she should have been the happiest she had ever been in…well not her life, that was reserved for other times like when she met Master Reigen or when she kissed Teru for the first time or that time when she was really little and they first brought Ritsu home from the hospital. Mob didn't really remember that last part but there was a DVD of when Ritsu came home for the first time. Mob was so happy she made them both float…not that she wanted to. She was only a baby so she couldn't help it…but she had been happy. She should have been happy then, too, because when Ritsu and Rei got married then Rei would be her sister. She had always wanted a sister but mom and dad always said that since they got one of each the baby factory was closed. They always said that no matter how much Mob said that she wanted a sister. There was nothing stopping mom and dad from going to the baby factory, Mob had thought up until the age of ten that there was such a place, and getting a little sister for her and a little brother for Ritsu to keep it all even.

But they still said no.

But now Rei would be her sister! They could hang out all the time if she and Ritsu got married! Rei and Ritsu and her and Teru could all live in a house together with Tome and Inukawa, too, because they'd probably get married and also with Master Reigen and Serizawa and whatever kids they'd have and their kids would be best friends and it would all have been so wonderful…really, it should have been. Even if it was so weird that girls liked Ritsu and that Ritsu liked girls. He was so little, very little, even though he was only a year younger than her. Well Mob knew that she needed to stop being all weird about that because it was a good thing.

She was getting a sister!

Not that she wasn't grateful to have a little bother, she was, she just wanted a sister too. Little brothers were well and good but they were boys and boys were, well, boys. Not that she had anything against boys they just thought that different things were fun and hung out in different ways and stuff. That was all. She wasn't one of those 'boys are gross so no boys allowed' girls like there were back in elementary school. She had always been friends with Ritsu, they even used to be best friends, but then they went to middle school and she found new friends…and so did he.

Like Sho.

Who could, apparently, disappear so completely that she couldn't even see his aura.

"Sho, you scared us." Said Mob. Sho had decided, it seemed, that they best thing to do was to jump out and scare everyone while they were debating if people were even meant to eat cat food. Tome said yes, Mob said no, and Rei wanted to make sure that they weren't talking about some sort of lifeboat situation because she didn't want to back herself into a corner, she said.

"No he didn't. I knew he was there the entire time." Said Tome. She had only been pretending to be scared, that was all, because nobody pulled one over and her. There was nothing at all scary about invisible people jumping out right in front of you. Also could Mob turn invisible too!? Because that would open so many doors for them…

"H-Hi Sho…" said Rei. Ok. He was cute. He had red hair, actual red hair not from a bottle like hers, and his hair was so spiky…and it just grew like that. His hair was actually very soft…he had even let her touch it once…and he had so many freckles…and he was so funny….and Rei decided to get off of that train of thought. She was Ritsu's sort of perspective girlfriend possibly sometimes in the future possibly.

"Hey Ritsu's big sis, Ritsu's big sis' friend, and Ritsu's big sis' other friend." Said Sho as he rocked on his heels. They were nice people, he thought, even if he was kind of bad with their names. Usually he called them, in his head, Ritsu's big sis, Ritsu's big sis' loud friend, and Ritsu's big sis' friend with the learning disability which was totally ok because everyone was different and school was a load of shit anyway. Not that he would ever call them that to their faces, that wasn't good manners, and girls cared about that sort of thing a lot.

"Mob's little brother's friend." Said Tome crossing her arms. How did he still not know their names? Really.

"Ok, so there's an animal in trouble? Right Ritsu's big sis? Where? How? When? Why? What?...um…other question words!" said Sho. They could be all politely social later, right now there was an animal and it needed help and it was small and helpless and he was going to help it even if it killed him! Or bit him or scratched him or he had to get another rabies shot. They weren't so bad, he'd had so much worse before.

"There's a cat in the crawlspace under the house but we can't get it out. I didn't want to drag it out with my powers because that would have been mean to the cat and we don't want to crawl down there because it's gross." Said Mob. She didn't usually mind bugs and stuff but there were so many spider webs and centipedes and other things…and it was dark….and there had been a spider in her hair…ick. So much ick.

"Uh huh….hmm….did you guys try eating cat food?" asked Sho like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It really was. He had no problem climbing down into the crawlspace and getting the cat but they were girls and girls hated gross things. They were really worried about being clean and pretty and stuff. Sho didn't get it, what was the point of worrying so much about being clean when you were just going to get dirty again. Ritsu didn't get it either, he said, but then he went and said that one bath a week was not nearly enough. For him Sho tortured himself even though he hated baths and bathtubs and water…but he had his own reasons for that. He'd probably need a bath, or at least a rag bath, after this if he was going to hang out with Ritsu. He would have been pissed off if Sho showed up covered in dirt and stuff…and Sho did not want to ever do anything to piss him off. He was such a nice guy. Smart and stuff, too, and super patient and just a good…friend. They were friends. Best friends. That was all that they could be and Sho…he was ok with that.

"What?" asked Mob and Rei, Mob with much less feeling than Rei.

"Well I mean you guys have the cat food so…" said Sho. Rei and Mob stared at him while Tome nodded to herself.

"See? See? What did I say?" asked Tome

"But it's for cats…and it's gross…" said Rei

"Yes, it says cat food on the label, not people food." Said Mob. She tried to picture what a can of people food would even be. Not canned food just…cans of people chow like they had cans of cat chow. Even that seemed like it would have been gross.

"It won't make you sick, probably. It has all the stuff we eat just all ground into mush. It's kind of like baby food like that." Said Sho. Not that he made it a habit to eat pet food. He had tried hamster food before and it was pretty much like eating really crappy cereal. That was why he cooked a lot of his hamster's meals from scratch. They deserved the best!

"He can eat the cat food in that case. I mean if he's so ok with it." Said Mob. Rei nodded in agreement. Tome nodded too. She was amenable to this plan. Someone was eating cat food, that was the point. She didn't know why it was so funny, the absurdity of the situation probably, but it was truly the height of comedy.

"Well before I eat can after can of cat food until I smell enough like cat food for the cat to come to me I'll try and bring it out of the hole myself. If I die I want to be stuffed and put in a museum." Said Sho as he crawled into the crawlspace.

"Ok." Said Mob. She wasn't sure if he was serious or not but she would make sure that his last wished were honored.

"And if I get bitten take me to the hospital! Seriously, no matter how much I say I don't need to go take me! The rabies shot isn't that bad!" said Sho as he crawled through the dark. He felt something scratch him on the back. Oh. Right. The ceiling was the floor of the house above him and it was full of nails…

"Ok Sho, I will!" said Mob

"Be careful!" said Rei. He was so brave to go under there with all the bugs and spider and stuff…

"So, whatever happened to 'you're going to marry Mob's little brother?' or whatever." Said Tome. Rei blushed and shook her head so fast her hair whipped her in the face. There was a crash and some cursing from the crawlspace.

"I'm excited." Said Mob

"We can tell." Said Tome. She wondered why Mob talked like, well, Mob. She hardly ever had any inflection unless you got her really embarrassed.

"We're going to be sisters. I know we are. You're great and then Ritsu is going to see how great you are and then you and him are going to get married and then you and I can be sisters and we can all live in one big house with Tome and Inukawa and Master Reigen and Serizawa and our kids can be friends and it'll be great." Said Mob

"You…really thought this through…" said Rei. She had no idea if she was ready for all of that.

She hadn't even kissed Ritsu yet and Mob was already planning on their kids being friends?! Mob was older and older people wanted a lot of commitment like that. She and Teru were already planning their wedding, probably, or something like that. Tome and her boyfriend even already did stuff…well Rei was not a baby just because she was the youngest. She could commit. She would commit. She would do the most committing out of all of them combined!

"It's important to always think things through. Master Reigen says that." Said Mob. She heard some meowing, now, and hissing. That was bad. Those were angry cat noises. Poor little kitty…and poor Sho, too, because he was probably getting all scratched up down there…

"Guys? I've got the cat…" said Sho as he held a very angry cat in his arms. He didn't blame the poor thing. Well no matter, mom loved cats, and if she said no then he could keep the cat at Serizawa's apartment. Well, maybe, it would have been easier if it had just been the one cat…

"Ok, you can come back now." Said Mob. She hoped that he was ok but if not she could always try and heal him. She managed to do it after the big fight with Sho's dad…even though she could not remember at all what it was that she had even done…

"Sure, sure, sure….but what am I supposed to do with all of these kittens?" asked Sho. The world went very still for a moment. Rei and Tome took a step away from Mob as her hair began to float and her aura became visible.

"Kittens?" said Mob softly. There was a look in her eyes, and an inflection in her tone, that worried both Rei and Tome. Tome took back what she thought. Monotone Mob was just fine by her.

"Yeah, there's a bunch of kitten down here. I can try and find homes for them but I'm not even sure if they can be away from their mom so-" said Sho

"I'll take them. I know just what to do." Said Mob. Rei and Tome looked at each other and then at Mob. Well that was new. Mob had never looked so…determined…before.

Mob was determined. She didn't care if mom said no pets. These were kittens that needed a home and she would find a way to give them one. This had been such a great job. Not only were they not going to get in trouble but they also had kittens!


	28. Together at Last

There was no keeping anything from teenage girls.

"Is she glowing? I think she's glowing but that might just be her highlighter." Said Rei. She thought that she was whispering, it seemed, but Reigen heard her loud and clear. She was over in the sitting area with Tome surrounded by scraps of colorful paper and glue sticks. Rei was hard at work at…something….something that Reigen assumed Rei would want to put up when she was done making whatever it was.

Reigen would let her. She was feeling gracious that day.

She made eye contact with Serizawa. He blushed and looked back down at his phone. Apparently Sho had some kind of animal related crisis going on.

"What the hell is highlighter?" asked Tome. She was lounged on the couch with her feet up and her DS in her hands. She had shown a remarkable amount of restraint. Maybe it was the lack of Mob. Tome showed off when Mob was around, Reigen thought, so the lack of Mob meant a more chill Tome.

Mob had said that she was busy that day. Rare for her, especially since all of her friends were there….hopefully she was fine. Reigen knew that she had been worried and jealous, before, when Serizawa started working there. The girls had been right about the whole 'shipping' them thing…maybe Mob was feeling threatened? Reigen would talk to her the next time she saw her.

"It's kind of like this powder that attracts light. It's good for contouring." Said Rei. Reigen shook her head from behind her computer screen. Highlighter? Contouring? Things were so much easier when she was in middle school. A little eyeliner, lip gloss, and eye shadow was all it took back then. She caught sight of herself reflected in the screen. A little highlighter, though, with some shimmer to it…

"What the hell is contouring?" asked Tome

"Seriously?" asked Rei

"Seriously." Said Tome

"You're messing with me. You know what contouring is…right?" said Rei

"That Instagram stuff you do that takes an hour and half each day?" asked Tome

"….it doesn't take that long anymore. Not since I got the hang out it." Said Rei. Reigen did not tell her that, no, she didn't fully have the hang of it. If Rei felt good about herself then Reigen wouldn't say a word. Even though her foundation didn't exactly match…

"You look nice the way you are." Said Serizawa. Reigen smiled. He was good at that, building people up, really good at that. He was just so sweet, sweet as blood red jam, not literally of course. He probably tasted like every other human being tasted…not in a cannibalistic sort of way. Ick. More of a they had yet to kiss sort of way…

Great. Now she sounded like Mob.

"Thanks! You too, Serizawa." said Rei. Then her eyes darted over to Reigen. Tome nudged her with her foot. Reigen watched them out of the corner of her eye. Subtle those two were not. What, were they expecting her to get jealous? First of all Reigen did not do jealousy and second of all Rei was thirteen years old. If Reigen had reason to be jealous then she would not have been dating a man who made her have to be jealous of a thirteen year old girl.

"I meant that you look normal! You always look nice! Right…Reigen?" asked Rei. Reigen rolled her eyes before she looked up. Fishing for signs, huh? The girls were being much more reserved than Reigen had thought they would be. Darn. And she had even emptied out the swear jar, too.

"You look nice, Serizawa." said Reigen simply. He blushed and stammered a bit. Rei giggled and went back to her crafting. Reigen wondered how long those two would be able to restrain themselves for. If Mob were there she would have just come out and asked. Reigen would tell the truth if Mob or one of the others asked, of course, because she had nothing to hide. She and Serizawa were in a relationship now. Really. They were in a real relationship together right at that moment…

It was nice.

He really was as sweet as blood red jam. Contrary to what the girls probably thought happened nothing had happened. Well confessions happened but that was it. They even slept in separate beds. They had held hands and he held her for a little bit but that was it. They ordered dinner, watched a movie, and at some point she passed out. She woke up tucked into her own bed with him passed out in the bed beside her. He hadn't even brought up the possibility, then, of the two of them doing anything…

Not that she was about to go bringing it up either.

She was not going to push him too fast. He'd never had a girlfriend before, he had said, and she assumed that he was a total virgin in every sense of the word. She didn't imagine that he would have had much time to meet women being Suzuki's body guard after all. Plus he was just so adorably, endearingly, flustered around her…like now.

God. He was so perfect.

She had no idea what would come next. She had been worried about it, obsessed with it, but now…now she was…excited? He wasn't the sort of man that would have her collect her clothes in the morning and go about her merry way. She had been with those sorts of men and she had her fun, a lot of it, but now she was ready for something…more. Not that she was booking the wedding band anytime soon. No…she didn't even know if she wanted to go that far with anyone. It didn't what mom harped on about every single time she called.

Arataki, why don't you have a boyfriend?

Arataki, why aren't you out getting a boyfriend right now?

Arataki, so and so from my office's daughter just got married?

Arataki, whatever happened to that man you were seeing back in university?

Arataki, the boy down the street just got divorced and he's always been very handsome…

And so on and so forth until she was ready to throw her phone out the window. Honestly. If mom wanted her to get married so badly then maybe mom and dad should have modeled what successful adult relationships looked like back in her formative years. Not that Reigen would be so contrary as to not get married just to spite her mother. Not that she would obey her mother's wishes and run out and get married, either.

She didn't know what she wanted in that department.

It was too damn early to even begin to think about that! They had just started their relationship! She needed to get off of this. She was not opening that conversation up any time soon. That would most certainly scare him away. They hadn't even kissed yet…not that she was going to agonize over it like Mob had. Not that she was even comparing Mob's relationship to hers. Mob was in middle school, it was totally different for her, Reigen was a grown woman and it didn't matter when she and Serizawa kissed or anything. They were adults, free of the peer pressure of middle school, and they would set their own timetable.

"Um…do you want some more tea?" asked Serizawa. Reigen looked up from what she was doing, a whole lot of nothing, and shrugged.

"If you feel like making more. I was thinking that we'd call it a day soon, actually. I've got nothing scheduled and I doubt that we'll get a walk-in this late." Said Reigen. It took her a moment to find her voice. It kept on trying to go high, instinctive for her, when she was with someone she was attracted to. Someone she was trying to be with.

Not like that.

Not that she was planning on asking him to be with her in that way anytime soon.

"I-I won't then. Um….what did you have planned for…for when we were done?" asked Serizawa. Reigen looked past him. Rei and Tome were watching them with baited breath. Rei was crossing her fingers and Tome looked like she was trying not to say something.

"I was thinking we could all head over to MobRonald's or something, I don't know." Said Reigen

"What the hell kind of place is that!?" asked Tome. Well at least now Reigen knew the limits of her restraint.

"It's a fast food chain that originated in the States back in the 1960's. They sell burgers, fries, ice cream, and deep fried pies." Said Reigen. Tome jumped to her feet and trampled all of Rei's handiwork. Rei looked like she was about to either cry or pop Tome one, maybe both.

"T-They also have salads…and milk shakes…" said Serizawa

"Yes, thank you. They also have salads and milkshakes." Said Reigen

"You can't cheap out on this, Reigen, that's no way to keep him!" said Tome. Serizawa blushed and looked down. Rei shook her head and tried to get Tome to sit back down.

"I don't think that Serizawa cares where they go. They have a good relationship like that. A strong relationship is built on mutual attraction, trust, and understanding. As long as you have those three things then your partner will always be there for you. I read that in a book I found in my parents' room…." Said Rei, her voice trailing off at the end.

"Not that we know anything for sure! I mean, it's none of our business…" said Rei

"Yes it is." Said Tome

"It's not. I mean, we don't think that anything….I mean we have no idea if you guys are…" said Rei playing with the hem of her school shirt.

"What's your future vision say?" asked Tome

"Um…I don't like to use it to look into people's relationships because sometimes I see things that I shouldn't…" said Rei. Serizawa looked like he wanted to die. Tome looked like she wanted to kill Rei. Reigen decided to end this before someone ended up dead.

"You can both stop, ok? Serizawa and I are a couple now….hold your questions!" said Reigen as they both began to talk at once. She wished Mob was there. Mob, at least, would have been quiet…or rather quieter…she did ship them too. She shipped them and her questions, while fewer, tended to be much more personal and much more direct.

"I-I'm going to make tea!" said Serizawa getting up suddenly. Reigen didn't blame him. She stepped to the side and let him pass as he carried the electric kettle over to be filled up.

"How long do we have to hold our questions for?" asked Rei

"That depends on what you're going to ask me. I reserve the right to refuse to answer any questions which I feel to be too personal or none of your business." Said Reigen

"Are you in love? Are you getting married? Are you pregnant? Did he kiss you? Did you kiss him? Did you-" said Rei going a mile a minute. Reigen held her hand up and shook her head.

"Did you guys…." Said Tome taking the moment of silence as the chance to ask her own question. She finished it off with a gesture that could only be called 'obscene' and Reigen was glad that Serizawa decided to take his sweet time filling up that electric kettle. His poor heart could not have taken that.

"First of all we just got together, ok Rei? It hasn't been long enough for any of that. Second of all, Tome, that is none of your business. How about we have a strict 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on…all of that? Sound fair?" asked Reigen

"I am in no way ashamed of what I do and would gladly share every single detail with everyone in this room." Said Tome with her arms crossed.

"I don't want any details but if you insist on giving them-" said Rei

"No! No details. I'm not saying that you should be ashamed, it's nothing to be ashamed of, but I am saying that I do not and will not ever want to know. Ok? You just…you be you…and be safe! Always be safe, remember that, but I don't want to know and I am not giving either of you, or Mob too, the details of…all of that. You're in middle school, it would be…not good…" Said Reigen

"So there is something to know?" asked Tome

"Not telling you, now stop being nosy." Said Reigen. She wondered if she was that nosy at their age. Maybe. That had always been a topic of obsession, who was doing what with who, and she was thankful that she had grown out of it. Of course they'd be curious about her…she was the only adult they knew besides their parents and teachers, and it was nice that they were comfortable enough to ask her but, well, it was not their business at all.

"….not being nosy you-" said Tome

"Swear jar!" said Reigen preemptively stopping what she knew was going to be a peak into Tome's very 'colorful' vocabulary.

"I wasn't going to say anything…" muttered Tome

"We all know just what you were about to say." Said Reigen

"I don't." said Rei

"Well then you're just going to have to live the rest of your life not knowing. Now tell me, the both of you, do you want to come with or not?" asked Reigen. Rei and Tome exchanged a look. A sort of silent conversation passed between them.

"We can't, we're busy….helping Mob! With the things!" said Tome

"Yeah. The things." Said Rei

"Right, sure, 'the things', well have fun doing whatever it is that you'll be doing and I'll see you two later." Said Reigen

"Bye Reigen…and don't look under your desk!" said Rei as Tome dragged her out the door. Reigen looked behind her to her desk and just stared. She wondered if she even wanted to know what that was about. She was debating this with herself, morbid curiosity was winning over common sense, when she heard footsteps coming closer.

She closed her eyes and just felt him. There was a sort of energy that he carried with him, sort of like a warm blanket but one made of wool or some other material that collected static electricity, and it was rapidly becoming one of her favorite feelings.

"Um…Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa. Reigen almost jumped. Right. There would be time for pining later.

"What's up?" asked Reigen

"Are…are we closing for the night?" asked Serizawa

"Yeah, I think it's about time we call it a day." Said Reigen. They stood in front of each other for a long, silent, second. His fingers drummed on the elective kettle. Oh!

"You don't have to make tea! I mean you can if you want to but I think that it'll be stale by tomorrow…not that you can't make some tea if you want to! You can do whatever you want, your life is your own." Said Reigen nervously. He put the kettle down and they had another one of their moments of awkward silence. But it didn't need to be awkward. They were together now. Why was it like this?

Because that question hung in the air.

What next?

Before what next was terrifying. Next could have meant anything, literally anything, and it still could…it still could be literally anything. She knew what she wanted…she sort of knew what she wanted…and she knew that she couldn't ask him for what she wanted…a lot of what she wanted.

"What's underneath your desk? I mean I heard Miss Kurosaki, not that I was eavesdropping! I just heard her say-" said Serizawa wringing his hands.

"Oh! I haven't even checked…and I'm afraid to….just a little bit. Who knows with those three." Said Reigen with a shrug. She turned around kicked her computer chair out of the way before getting down and digging around underneath her desk. She could feel Serizawa's eyes on her. She stayed under maybe a little longer than necessary.

She'd let him enjoy the view a little while longer.

She didn't mind it, when he checked her out, and she was ready to admit to herself that he checked her out. The man may have been pure as the driven snow but he was still a man plain and simple. Reigen didn't mind. She knew she was young and attractive. Besides, her eyes also tended to wander around on occasional. His shoulders. His back. The way he was so tall and broad and-

Oh.

New shoes.

And a note.

She crawled out from under her desk with the note in her hand. She could feel him looking at her, again, or maybe he just hadn't stopped. Reigen's eyes scanned the note. Written in Mob's blocky, microscopic, handwriting.

"Dear Master Reigen, we are so very sorry…sorry is written in red…that we….someone crossed out we and wrote Tome….broke those shoes that you left under your desk because you said that they were terrible….we tried to glue them back together but it didn't work and I tried with my powers but they were still uneven….well they were like that when I bought them….so here are new shoes. We are sorry." Read Reigen. Huh. Well then. That was…considerate of them.

They were good kids.

"I'm sorry…about your shoes I mean. I mean I know how much you care about how you dress and you always dress so nicely…I mean not that I look at you! I mean sometimes I do but…is that ok? I mean you're my girlfriend but you're also-" said Serizawa. Reigen smiled, put the letter down, and then reached over for his hand.

She hesitated a moment before she took it.

He hesitated a moment before he held her hand back.

"Serizawa, I take it as a compliment, really. I'm your girlfriend, if you can't check your girlfriend out than who can you check out?" asked Reigen with shrug. Well she had set out to calm him down but that put him even more on edge. Was it the whole 'girlfriend' thing? Reigen stops her mind before it can go down a path she knows to stay away from. Serizawa is nothing like that. Hell, he's the one who wanted to start this thing in the first place. Not that she didn't want to, too.

"I-I'm sorry, I've never done this before and I don't want to mess up and in anime girls, I mean women, don't like-" said Serizawa. Reigen gave his hand a squeeze.

"Serizawa, you have no reason to worry. I like you and I want you to think I'm attractive. Honestly I'd be a little offended if you didn't think that I was at least kind of cute-" said Reigen

"I think you're beautiful!" said Serizawa before he covered his mouth quickly, as if that would make a difference in what he just said. It wouldn't, he couldn't un-say it. Reigen didn't want him to un-say it. She wanted him to say it again and again and again and again….

Now it was her turn to blush.

She felt it from the tips of her ears down to the tips of her toes. Now she was the nervous one. Why? She had been called so many things before….maybe because it was him. Maybe because she knew that he was speaking from the heart. Maybe because he was a person without any sort of pretext and she knew deep down at the core of her being that he was someone who she could trust completely….

"….I'm sorry it just came out! I mean I think that you're beautiful and pretty and-and-and a lot of other things but I'm not just with you because of that! I also think that you're-" said Serizawa. If she was nervous then he was working himself up to a heart attacked. She wanted to hear what he had to say, to hear every single wonderful thing that he could possibly say to her, but he was redder than she must have been and she didn't much feel like carrying him to the hospital when he passed out.

"Hungry. I'm hungry….you?" asked Reigen softly

"I-I could be…" said Serizawa

"So….dinner?" asked Reigen. Their first date. It didn't count, before, but now it would. Well it didn't have to be a date, it could have just been dinner. It could have been whatever they wanted. Whatever he wanted. She didn't want to push him into doing anything that he didn't want to do but she did want…a lot of things…with him…things that he may or may not have been ready to say yes to…

But he at least said yes to dinner. That was a start.


	29. Another Kid to Win Over

If Reigen wanted to date Serizawa it seemed that she would have to win over an overprotective thirteen year old boy first.

Sho had appeared in the office that day. That was…unusual. Reigen knew OF Sho. Serizawa spoke of him sometimes, Rei spoke of him often, and according to Mob he was practically living in her brother's room. She had never spent that much one on one time with the kid, or any at all, but she didn't have anything against him.

He seemed like a nice enough kid.

And he seemed like more of a kid since she had met him. She had first seen him after the mess with the 7th Division of Claw when he kicked that weird bald guy's ass. The second time she had met him they were all running for their lives. He was different now. A lot calmer. He even looked younger, now, sitting there in Mob's chair staring at her…though she didn't know what to make of the staring…and it was a little disconcerting. The kid was just staring at her as she pretended to be busy at her desk.

"What are you doing?" asked Sho

"Hm? Um…just going over some old E-Mails…." Said Reigen. Serizawa was getting them lunch and she wished that she had gone with him. She was regretting how lazy she had been that day. The kid had been more animated, before, when Serizawa was there. Lots of jumping around on the furniture and jumping around from conversation topic to conversation topic. Now he was silently perched on top of Mob's desk and he was just…staring…

"Is it hard?" asked Sho

"No, not really…it's just something that I have to do. Do you…want something to do? You seem bored, kid." said Reigen. She had always thought that she was good with kids. The girls liked her. Maybe because this was a boy and they were, well, boys. The girls had this sort of fascination with her, it seemed, because she was an adult woman. They liked to not only hang out with her but come to her with their problems and ask advice and try on her clothes and shoes, too. Sho seemed to have a fascination with her, too, but instead of going through her things and trying on her shoes he was just staring at her.

"I'm not bored, I'm just watching you." Said Sho

"Ok…why, though? I can't possibly be that fascinating." Said Reigen with a laugh. Who knew, maybe she was fascinating to him. Serizawa said that the kid didn't have that great of a relationship with his mother so maybe he was just looking for that in someone else. Reigen didn't consider herself to be un-nurturing but she considered herself to be more of a big sister/ cool aunt type.

"You're not that interesting but I guess that I'm just trying to figure you out." Said Sho

"You could try just talking to me instead of watching me delete old E-Mails. The only thing you'll learn from watching me do this is that I give out my E-Mail address way too freely. Do not make my mistakes, always use your junk E-Mail for mailing lists and rewards cards." Said Reigen

"I know that I won't get to know you that well like this, I'm not dumb, but I like to watch people first. People I don't know that well…and I want to get to know you better I guess. I mean if you're going to be Serizawa's girlfriend and stuff I should get to know you…and I guess that you're going to marry him to and all of that other stuff that girls like to think about, too, because you're a girl and I know girls. I mean I don't know that many girls but I think that I understand them. Well I try to, girls can be really weird sometimes." Said Sho

"Whoa, who said anything about marriage?" said Reigen. That was the portion of his little monologue that rang in her head. Marriage was…she had nothing against marriage but she hadn't been planning for her own marriage since she was a kid. She wouldn't say no but….but she had no idea if she was capable of saying yes…and she did not want to get into that now.

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you like a girl? Marry her after you make her your girlfriend? And then you bang and have a bunch of kids? Said Sho

"Swear jar." Said Reigen without thinking. Teenagers! Everything was so….much…with them! She felt like she was talking to Rei or Mob for a moment, there. Marriage, children, true and never ending love…she did not envy teenagers.

"I didn't swear. Bang isn't a swear word." Said Sho

"No it's not but don't…you are too young to say that." Said Reigen

"I'm thirteen now. My birthday was last December." Said Sho with a huff. Reigen smiled and shook her head.

"What?" asked Sho

"Nothing, nothing at all." Said Reigen still giggling a little.

"You're laughing." Said Sho

"Ok, ok, I'm laughing a little." Said Reigen. That got her a glare…but not one with any bite behind it. She had already seen what it looked like when the kid was truly pissed at someone.

"Well how old are you then?" asked Sho

"Twenty nine, but never ask a woman her age." Said Reigen

"Why? You're not old. Serizawa's older than you are and he's not old. You're not as old as my mom, though, she's forty two. She just had her birthday a few weeks ago." Said Sho

"Thanks, you're a sweet kid, now don't ever say bang again." said Reigen. Thirteen year olds were going to be thirteen. She was not going to be a hypocrite. If she wouldn't let the girls get away with that then she wouldn't let Sho get away with it either. That was the trick with kids, you always had to treat them equally.

"Why not? I don't get it. That's what people do when they're in love. They bang and then have a kid or two or three or ten, even, like this family I saw on TV with ten kids and counting. That's a lot of kids, I think, but I don't know I'm an only child. How many kids are you and Serizawa going to have?" asked Sho

"What? I don't…slow down, kid, its not even been a week yet!" said Reigen. Kids. She hadn't thought about…well she had…and she loved the girls but…but she herself having kids? She had spent the last fifteen years of her life trying not to have kids. That was…she was somewhat responsible for the girls but at the end of the day they went back to their own parents. She didn't know if she could do that…raise a kid on her own….well not on her own because Serizawa didn't seem like the type who would just up and leave her if she…if THEY were to….this was not the time to be worrying about this.

"So you don't love Serizawa enough to do all of the couple stuff that you're supposed to do?" asked Sho

"No, I'm saying that it hasn't even been a full week yet. Relationships are slower when you're an adult, ok? There's a difference between being thirteen and being thirty." Said Reigen

"You said you were twenty nine." Said Sho

"I know, thirteen rhymes better with thirty than with twenty nine." Said Reigen

"It does….I guess….but I don't get why? I mean….Ok, I don't think that you're a jerk." Said Sho

"Thank you…?" asked Reigen

"No, not to be mean to your or anything. I just mean that I don't think that you're going to be a jerk to Serizawa. Just…he really likes you and I don't want him to get all…sad…again…because he's my friend and stuff…" said Sho

"You don't have to be afraid of that, Sho, ok?" said Reigen. She wondered how to proceed with this. She understood what the kid was worried about. She understood, well she thought that she understood, what it must have been like from his point of view. From what she could gather, from what Serizawa had said, Sho had not had a lot of positive relationships in his life. He was similar to Mob in that respect. The only difference was that Mob had been more worried, it seemed, about being replaced whereas Sho was worried about Serizawa's wellbeing.

"I'm not! I mean….I mean you don't seem like a jerk but I know that people aren't always together forever and that sometimes people think that they've found the person that they want to be with forever but it turns out that they aren't good for each other…at least that was how my mom explained it…and I know that Serizawa would be really sad if it turned out that you didn't love him and stuff and I just…don't want him to be sad…so I figured that I'd see if you were a good person or not….I mean I guess that you are. Ritsu's big sis says that you are and you saved a bunch of people….so I know that you aren't a bad person but…" said Sho

"If you want to get to know me, if that'll put you at ease, then you can get to know me. I'm not going to lie to you, less than a week of being in a relationship is not long enough to be able to tell if we're going to spend the rest of our lives together or anything like that but I will answer, or try to answer, any questions that you may have. Ok?" asked Reigen

"I can ask you anything and you'll just…answer me?" asked Sho

"Provided that it's not too personal or not something that you don't need to know about then yes." said Reigen. She decided to treat him like one of the girls. If they had a question, any question, she always did her best to answer them. Unless it was a question that they did not need to know the answer to. That was different. There were parts of her life that they just did not need to know about at their age. Maye when they were older…or she was deader. Yeah, there were somethings that they could not know about until she was long dead. Sho was just another kid and she would treat him just like one of the girls. Yeah! Gender fairness!

"So no personal questions? But how do I know which ones are personal and which ones aren't?" asked Sho

"I'll tell you, ok?" said Reigen trying to be patient. The kid had been raised by wolves, practically, and she had to wear Mob gloves when it came to him.

"Ok…." Said Sho. Then he closed his eyes in thought. Reigen worried, for a moment, about the fact she had just given a teenager carte blanche to ask her just about anything.

"What's your favorite animal?" asked Sho after a while. Reigen let out a breathe she didn't realize that she had been holding.

"I like dogs best, what's yours?" asked Reigen

"I like hamsters the most but I love all animals….even cats that scratch all the time. I love that cat even if it hates me and everyone else." Said Sho

"You have a cat?" asked Reigen. From what she knew of Sho, mostly from Serizawa, Sho had some kind of menagerie going and it was spilling over into Serizawa's apartment. According to Rei Sho was super loving and nurturing and loved to take care of animals.

"I have one third custody of a momma cat and her babies. Ritsu and Ritsu's big sis have the other third." Said Sho

"Mob has a cat? Huh….she didn't tell me…but I guess my information on Mob is a little dated." Said Reigen. So that was where Mob had been. Well it was nice to know that Mob's dreams of cat ownership were coming true…even if she had been gone all week.

"She has a third of a cat. A family of cats. They're a family and we can't split them up." Said Sho. Reigen nodded. There was a lot to unpack there, it felt like, but she decided not to go digging too deep into that too soon.

"That's important…keeping families together is important…but I'm not sure that it works the same with cats…" said Reigen

"It does." Said Sho

"Right…also I know for a fact that Mob's mom hates animals in the house…and I think that it was either her mom or her dad that was allergic…" said Reigen. Well Mob seemed like she was in for a world of trouble. Usually she was such a rules follower…it seemed that love did conquer all, even the fear of one's mother's wrath.

"They're living in her wardrobe right now. Well sometimes they live in Ritsu's room but I like it better when they're in her wardrobe because then her friends stay in her room…I mean they're ok! Her friends…they're ok I guess…I just like it better when they're in her room and not Ritsu's. They're nice and all…whatever. It's whatever. Do you like cats? Do you want a family of cats?" said Sho. He got a far off sort of look there. Reigen thought that there was something there, actually, that went beyond him just not wanting to hang out with a bunch of girls all day.

"Um….not really…not that I have anything against cats, I just can't take care of an entire family of them right now." Said Reigen

"….I guess that makes sense. It's hard to take care of things I guess…." Said Sho

"But you're good at it, Sho, a hell of a lot better than I would be. Not only one cat but a whole family of them? I could not do it, let me tell you…." Said Reigen. That seemed to be it, the thing that got her into his good graces, and for that she was grateful….and not only because he had stopped the suspicious staring.

Which was not like Mob's staring. Mob just sort of…stared…sometimes but not like that. Well at least the kid liked her, now. Serizawa had already won over the girls and now it seemed like it was her turn to win Sho. Heh. Like blending families, almost…

She felt like a step mother…and neither of them had any kids!


	30. Sleepover

"Get in, quick!" said Reigen as she got the door to her apartment opened, finally. She threw the door opened and ushered Mob inside just as the wind picked up again.

Reigen hated the rainy season…and it wasn't even the rainy season yet!

She and Mob had been out at a job. She trusted Serizawa and Tome to hold down the fort, and Rei to make sure that there would be an office to come back to in the morning. The fact that it would be covered in glitter and whatever crafts Rei was into at the time went unsaid. It was nice to do things just her and Mob sometimes, and it gave them time to talk, not that Mob had said much.

She had been happy for Reigen, she had said at least, so there was that.

"How is it this rainy this early in the year? Global warming is such a pain, Mob, remember, always separate out your recyclables. We've all got to do our part before THIS becomes our existence." Said Reigen as she kicked off her shoes in the genkan. She kicked them over into the pile with all of the other shoes. Mob took hers off more slowly and made sure to face them the right way.

She had to be polite, it was her first time in Master Reigen's house.

Well, apartment. Mob didn't know why she had always been picturing a house whenever she pictures where Master Reigen lived. She had always pictured a big pink and grey house with a garden. Well the building Master Reigen lived in was grey, at least, and her couch was pink….and also there were a lot of plants. Lots of books, too, up on shelves and stacked on the floor and strewn around the little coffee table. The coffee table didn't have any coffee on it, but it did have empty beer cans, cup noodle cups, and a glass that said something in English with some red drink still at the bottom.

Mob thought that it might not have been fruit punch.

"Sorry about the mess! I didn't think that I'd be having company! You can come in, Mob, and make yourself at home!" said Reigen as she walked over to the living/dining/tv room area and picked up an old take-out bag. She quickly tried to toss her empty beer cans and noodle cups and food wrappers and God only knew what else she had managed to accumulate since the last time she cleaned.

"…ok…" said Mob. It took her a moment to step out of the genkan. This was Master Reigen's actual house! Well her apartment. This was where she lived! Mob had known her for years and had never once been to her house before! And here she was! She didn't mind that it was messy or cold or that she herself was soaking wet from the sudden storm and shivering. This was so cool!

Mob wanted to touch everything.

She wanted to touch all the plants on the shelves, flip through every single book, look between the couch cushions, go through all of Master Reigen's streaming history on…she didn't even know which streaming apps Master Reigen had! How did she not know! She had been friends with Master Reigen for much longer than she had been friends with Rei and Tome but they had all been to each other's houses a million times.

Maybe because Master Reigen was an adult.

That was it. Mob had never been in a single adult's house before. Well formerly single. Master Reigen and Serizawa had confessed to each other and were boyfriend and girlfriend now. Master Reigen told her in person but Rei and Tome had told her through text and also Sho had woken her up in the middle of the night to tell her in person. Mob was happy for Master Reigen, she really was, because everyone deserved to be as happy as she and Teru were….and they were happy.

She wondered if Master Reigen and Serizawa had kissed yet.

But she knew it was none of her business. She just wondered how it worked with adults. They were complicated. Their lives were so busy. They were so busy that they went right to…bed stuff…sometimes. She knew that Master Reigen did…and she was never going up on any roofs with Rei and Tome and a telescope ever again. It was none of her business what Master Reigen did but she was still…curious.

Curiosity killed the cat.

The cat!

"Mob, you ok? You're shivering like crazy. Hang on, let me get you a towel…and something dry to change into. Sit tight." Said Reigen. Maybe bringing Mob by hadn't been the best idea. They were closer to her house and the most logical thing seemed to be to wait out the rain somewhere warm and dry. Though judging by how much rain was hitting her windows, and how the wind was whipping the building, it didn't seem like this storm would be letting up any time soon.

"I'm fine, Master, just a little cold. I'm more worried about the cat….please don't tell anyone I have a cat." Said Mob as she followed Master Reigen across the living room and through a door. Mob didn't know if she was supposed to follow but she wanted to see what was beyond that door. She wanted to know what was behind every door and in every drawer and behind ever picture and hidden under every floorboard in Master Reigen's apartment.

Not that she was planning on snooping or anything.

"Oh yeah. Sho was telling me about that. How's that going, by the way, did your parents find out yet?" asked Reigen as she kicked a pile of clothes out of the way of her door so it could open all the way for the first time in a while. The living room had been a mess but her bedroom was a disaster area. She didn't usually have people over, that was her excuse, she preferred to do her hooking up at his house or hotel room or whatever. That way she could make an easy get away in the morning without all of the awkwardness.

Not that she would be making any early morning getaways….possibly ever again.

But not that she planned on having Serizawa over either. It was too soon, way too soon for that, and he obviously needed time. He still asked her if they could hold hands so anything more would be….a lot for him. Not that she thought about this that often. She respected his boundaries.

"No, not yet, but mom wants to know why me and Ritsu don't want her in our rooms anymore. Dad says that it's because we're growing up but mom is getting suspicious. Sho wants to take the cats, the momma cat and her babies, back to his house because even though his mom said no more pets she lets him do whatever he wants. I want to keep the cats because I love them and I've always wanted cats…even if the momma cat scratches a lot. There are five kittens, too, and sometimes they're kind of loud….do you like cats, Master Reigen?" asked Mob as Master Reigen began to look through her dresser drawers. Her dresser, from what Mob could see of it, was pink too. Lots of clothes on top of the dresser.

Master Reigen was so lucky. If Mob had left her clothes out like that mom would have been so cross with her.

"Not six of them, Mob. That's too many cats. Besides, you know I'm a dog person." Said Reigen as she pulled out a T-shirt and pajama pants that might have fit Mob. She couldn't just stand there in wet clothes, she'd get sick, and what kind of master would Reigen be if she let her student catch pneumonia like that.

"I know….I don't understand why but I know." Said Mob

"Because dogs are the most loyal, most cheerful, animals in the entire world. Dog is man's best friend. Cats are man's roommate who occasionally scratches you and sheds all over the house…kind of like my roommate back in university." Said Reigen. Mob felt the scratches on her arms through her wet school shirt.

"Master, I think that we should agree to disagree before we fight again. I don't like it when we fight." said Mob

"Yeah, back then that was…not good…back then. Here, you can change into this so you don't catch your death." Said Reigen as she wrung out her wet hair. Mob mirrored her actions even though they were getting the floor wet. She was handed some clothes. A shirt and pants. Mob frowned.

"What's up?" asked Reigen as she noticed Mob's frown. Hey, they may have been her happy doggy pajamas from she didn't even know when but they could possibly fit Mob and they were clean. The even smelled nice, too, mom was right about keeping bars of soap in her dresser drawers.

"I don't like pants." Said Mob simply. She didn't want to be rude or anything but she HATED pants and had hated them for her entire life. Even tights and leggings were uncomfortable.

"Huh. You know, I have never once seen you in pants in all the years I've known you." Said Reigen with her hand on her chin in that classic 'thinking' pose. Heh. She had just never noticed, or given much thought to the fact that, Mob never wore pants. Not even in the winter time.

"That's because I hate them. They're itchy and I can't move in them. I don't know how boys can wear nothing but pants all day." Said Mob simply

"I didn't know you felt so strongly about pants, Mob…" said Reigen. She wore pants sometimes, yoga pants were a little piece of heaven, but skirts were easier to move around in. Longer ones, like Mob like, she just wore the shorter ones because, well, she was young and attractive and she knew it.

"I hate them more than any other kind of clothes." Said Mob simply. Seriously. Reigen nodded. Well then, she was learning all kinds of things about Mob. She went back to her dresser and pulled out a long nightshirt. This one also had a dog on it, a German shepherd, the best sort of dog…not that Mob agreed with that.

"Try this, it'll probably fit, and leave your school clothes I'll hang them up to dry." Said Reigen as she grabbed some yoga pants and a T-shirt and left Mob to get changed. The rain was still coming down like it was the height of monsoon season in the tropics even though it was barely spring and they were nowhere near the tropics! She wrung her hair out again and sighed. She couldn't take Mob home in that. They'd drown before they got to the end of the block. She fished her phone out of her pocket, thank God for waterproof cases, and checked the time.

It was getting late.

She knocked on the door.

"Hey Mob, it's getting kind of late and the rain's not going to stop anytime soon it looks like…" said Reigen

"Ok Master. I can just make a barrier to keep the water off and walk home. Thank you for having me over." Said Mob

"Mob, Mob, Mob what kind of master would I be if I let you walk home through this?" asked Reigen

"….not a very nice one?" said Mob

"Exactly! So I was thinking that you could just stay over and I'll walk you to school in the morning. That depends on what your mom says, of course." Said Reigen. There was a moment of silence in which Reigen worried, for a moment, that Mob was upset…but then she could see anything light begin to float, including her hair.

"Do you mean a sleepover?" asked Mob, finally. Her hair was floating, now, everything in the room was floating. Clothes, books, makeup, even some plants. Not the violent sort of floating that happened when she was upset. This was a happy, slower, sort of floating. She was happy. This was great!

A sleepover with Master Reigen!

"Yeah, sure, a sleepover." Said Reigen. She swore that she heard Mob jumping up and down on the other side of the door. Adorable. This could be fun. She hadn't had a sleepover since she was Mob's age.

"This is going to be so much fun!" said Mob to herself as she tossed off her wet clothes and put on the dry ones Master Reigen lent her. This was so great! They could stay up all night! They could hang out and watch TV and talk and play games and she could paint Master Reigen's nails and braid her hair and so her makeup…

She had so much makeup!

She had one of those tables with lights and a mirror, mom called it a vanity and she had one that Mob wasn't supposed to go near, but Master Reigen's was different. It looked more like Rei's than mom's. Mom had her makeups arranged by type and shade and occasion. Master Reigen didn't' have any system at all, it seemed, for her make up. There was nail polish too! And headbands and hair ties and hair clips and-and-and-

This was going to be so much fun!

Mob had been on plenty of sleepovers before. Well not plenty since she only started to go on sleepovers since she became friends with Tome, and later Rei, but she knew what happened at them. She never thought that she and Master Reigen would ever have a sleepover but now that it was happening she was so excited! The most excited! She was so happy that it was raining outside! Now she not only got to visit Master Reigen AT HER HOUSE but she got to have a whole sleepover too!

Breathe. Don't forget to breathe.

Mob reminded herself to breathe as she tossed off her wet clothes. Master Reigen let her change on her own, which she was grateful for. Mob didn't even like changing for gym class let alone in front of people she was friends with. This nightshirt was so soft! Even if it did smell kind of like smoking. That was probably because everything in the apartment smelled like smoking. That was because Master Reigen smoked even though she was always saying how terrible it was for you. She smoked a lot more at home than at work, it seemed, if the overflowing ashtray on the bedside table was anything to go off of.

Mob knew that she should not have been snooping.

It was an invasion of privacy. It wasn't a nice thing to do. She knew that it was wrong but…she had never been in Master Reigen's room before. She just had so much stuff that it was impossible not to be at least a little but curious. Mob wasn't even snooping per se…not like how mom liked to go through people's medicine cabinets when she visited them and then talk about what she found with dad….she was just curious as to what…what book it was that Master Reigen had left opened on her bedside table.

Love in the Time of Passion.

Oh. It was one of those books that mom read all the time and wouldn't let Mob touch. Mob decided to leave that one alone. She didn't want to make Master Reigen lose her place even though Mob had never read a book like that before. Well she read manga about love but manga wasn't real books. Emi said so, not that Mob talked to Emi that much, but she said that manga was not books because manga had pictures and works of great literature did not need pictures. Master Reigen might have thought the same way, she didn't have any manga in her room.

Lots of books about love and romance. A few about dogs, too. Also some about telling the future and spiritual things like that. They were all scattered around Master Reigen's bedside table. There were some socks there, too, and a couple headbands. Mob wondered if maybe she should have cleaned up a little bit. There was a lot of stuff just…everywhere. Master Reigen was lucky like that, if Mob had kept her room like that mom would have been so cross with her.

She wondered what it was like, not having a mom around all the time.

Adults could do whatever they wanted, even keep their stuff on the ground. Even leave their beds unmade. Master Reigen had a bed, not a futon, and it was pink and grey. Well the sheets were pink and the blanket was grey and the pillows were shaped like dogs….which looked like it would be uncomfortable. Mob laid down on Master Reigen's bed really quick just to check.

Yup. Uncomfortable.

Wait, there. She had a real pillow, it was just at the foot of the bed. Or maybe she slept with her feet to the window and her head to the door. Tome slept like that, she liked to be able to look out the window as she fell asleep. Master Reigen kept her room like Tome kept hers. It was messy like Tome's but Master Reigen didn't have any outer space or videogame or anime posters up. She didn't have any posters up at all, not even over her computer desk, which struck Mob as being a little weird. Mom hadn't let her put up any posters because it was bad for the walls. Master Reigen was an adult, maybe she was worried about the state of the walls too.

Mob did not understand adults.

She didn't understand adults one bit. Even Master Reigen was kind of hard to understand sometimes. Like the way that she didn't have a picture of Serizawa anywhere in her room, it seemed like, even though he was her boyfriend. She had liked him for a while, at least that was what Rei and Tome said, they were better at those sorts of things than Mob. When you liked someone and they agreed to be your boyfriend then you at least took some pictures with them. She and Teru had taken a bunch of sticker pictures and Mob had put them up all over her desk and wardrobe. Rei wasn't anyone's girlfriend but she had a picture of her and Ritsu, well her and Ritsu and everyone from that time they all went out and tried to see how many people could fit in a photo booth at once, tucked into the corner of her mirror. Tome had a framed picture of her and Inukawa on her desk and as her background on her computer.

Maybe adults were different like that.

Mob wondered how else adults were different. She knew that they could do whatever they wanted but they seemed to do…nothing…with that freedom. They could stay out with their friends as long as they wanted and wear whatever they wanted and eat whatever they wanted and do whatever they wanted but it seemed like all they ever did was worry about things. Bills and work and getting enough sleep and gaining weight and all of that other adult stuff.

Master Reigen didn't worry about all of that stuff but she did worry. She was more fun than most adults, though, it seemed.

When Mob grew up she knew that she wanted to be just like Master Reigen. Even if her room was kind of messy. Even if she did leave clean clothes and dirty clothes together on her floor. Even if she did smoke a lot even though it made you sick. Even if she didn't have a picture of her boyfriend as her computer background, not that Mob was doing a lot of computer snooping or anything like that. She had just been curious as to what Master Reigen's computer background was, that was all. Now she knew, it was of a basket of puppies.

Also she saved text documents to her desktop.

Mob read some of the titles. It was all work stuff. She had some folders, too, but Mob knew well enough not to go opening up other people's folders. Tome taught her that one. She said that if someone had a folder labeled homework then it didn't have homework in it but instead stuff that Mob did not want to see. Also if someone had a folder labeled like it had pictures of naked people in it then it was either full of naked people or cool stuff like bomb making recipes, in which case then it was ok to open and look through.

Master Reigen didn't have anything like that but Mob still knew enough not to look.

There were certain things that you just did not want to know about a person. Things that were not meant for mortal eyes. Things that Mob could live the rest of her life not knowing about Master Reigen. Not that Mob even got why adults would do…stuff like that. They had relationships and when you were in a relationship then you had another person to do stuff like that with. Well unless you were her. Mob didn't know exactly what she wanted but she knew that she wanted…something…or at least to be asked. How would she know what she was and was not ok with unless Teru just asked already?! Of course Mob knew that she wasn't supposed to want to do anything like that. Mom said that good girls didn't want to do things like that. Mom was super old though, over forty, and Master Reigen said that older people had older ideas about things like that. Mob hoped that it didn't make her a bad person to want to do stuff like that with Teru.

But everyone wanted to do stuff like that.

So then it must not have been a bad thing. Master Reigen did stuff like that, and had done so before she was in a relationship, so it must have been ok. Not that Mob would ever do anything like that. She was Mob. Teru even said that he wasn't going to push her to do anything. He said that he knew that she wouldn't want to do anything because she was her…Mob didn't fully even know what that meant. Because she was so boring? She knew that she looked boring. She knew that people said that she was plain and boring.

She got up and went to Master Reigen's mirror.

She stared at herself. She still even looked like she was in elementary school. She looked plain and boring and young so of course Teru wasn't going to want to do anything more than kiss her…and she even had to ask him a million times to do that. She knew that she should have been happy with what she had. She and Teru kissed and held hands and cuddled and went on dates and walks and he even let her ride on the back of his bicycle sometimes even though it was dangerous and they had tipped over a few times….she should have been happy. She should have been super happy but she wasn't.

She rested her head against the cool glass of the mirror. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She had spent so much time wanting to be Teru's girlfriend and then she had spent so much time wishing that he would kiss her and now that she was his girlfriend, and he had kissed her, but she still wasn't happy with what she had. She needed to stop thinking about this. She was having a sleepover with Master Reigen. There she went again, still not happy with what she had.

She needed to be happier.

She was having a sleepover with Master Reigen! They could have so much fun. They could do sleepover things like…makeovers! Master Reigen had a lot of makeup, more than Mob had seen in her makeup bags even, and she wore it every single day. She must have liked makeup, then, and Mob kind of liked it too. She liked it when Rei did her makeup and she liked doing Rei's makeup. Tome's, too, when they got her to join in. She liked other sleepover stuff too like watching movies and playing videogames and playing flashlight tag and staying up late talking about stuff...and also braiding hair…

And Master Reigen had really long hair….

"Hey Mob, you ok in there?" asked Reigen knocking on the door. Her entire apartment had been trying to upend itself and it was either Mob of a ghost, she'd believe either. Reigen knocked again and was almost smacked with the door as it opened suddenly.

"Oh, good, you're ok. Anyway I was thinking-" said Reigen

"Master Reigen…." Said Mob. Reigen hadn't seen her eyes that wide in…ever. Her hair was floating around her but not like she was about to explode. There was that energy around her, though, the sort that usually preceded and explosion…but Mob seemed fine….

"What's up?" asked Reigen as she shrank under Mob's gaze. That was…intense…

"Can I...braid your hair? And do your makeup? And-and-and-" said Mob. This was going to be just like when and Rei and Tome had sleepovers but even better because it was Master Reigen! This was the third greatest thing to ever happen to her in the history of her life!

There was only thing that Reigen could say to that. Really, only one thing.

"Sure, but with your hands, not your powers." Said Reigen. She changed and sat down at her vanity. She had let Mob braid her hair before but she had never let Mob do her makeup. She hadn't even known that Mob knew how to do makeup. She never wore it, well her mother didn't want her to, but Reigen knew teenage girls. She had been a teenage girl once and no matter how much her mother forbade and forbade Reigen hadn't listened. Well Reigen was not Mob.

"….and then we can stay up all night! And we can play games…do you have games? Do you have videogames? Do you have board games? We can play other things, too! We can play hide and seek and guess what I'm thinking of and flashlight tag and truth or dare, wait not truth or dare, because it's not as fun without Tome. Also Rei and Tome said that I'm not good at it because I don't ask good questions or think up good dares….we can play truth or dare if you want! And we can make cookies, we do that at Rei's house, and we can climb onto the roof and look at the stars, we do that at Tome's house, and we can play videogames and watch movies all night, we do that at my house-" said Mob as she braided Master Reigen's hair with her powers and covered her in makeup by hand.

"Mob, you know you have school in the morning, right?" asked Reigen as she felt yet another braid being added to her hair. She opened her eyes, briefly, and this earned her an accidental poke with a mascara wand.

"Master Reigen, don't move or I'll mess up." Said Mob as she picked up another mascara. You could never have too much makeup, Rei said so, and she knew a lot about these things. Besides, this eyelash stuff said that it made your eyelashes extra long. That was good because the one before said that it made your eyelashes extra thick. It was important to have balance when you did your eyelashes. Tome said so, that was how she got her eyelashes so nice.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just saying that we can't stay up all night, you have to go to school in the morning and I have to get to work." Said Reigen as she closed her eyes again. She felt a familiar tug at her eyelashes. Mob was really going heavy on the mascara…and now the eyeliner.

"Ok, but can we stay up late? I don't have a bedtime, not really, but I'm supposed to be quiet so I don't keep Ritsu up." Said Mob. She put down the eye lash stuff and picked up some of that cheek stuff, blush or rouge, Mob didn't get the difference. No, wait! Rei said that you were supposed to do all the layers of foundation first. First all the eye stuff and then the foundation and then the other stuff.

"We can stay up kind of late but remember, you have school and I have work. Next time we'll stay up late." Said Reigen. Not that she was sure that there would be a next time. She was having fun. This was fun. She had forgotten how much fun it could be to just sit there and let someone else paint her up. Even if that someone didn't have the first idea what they were doing.

"Next time we should bring Rei and Tome too. Rei could probably do your makeup better than I can." Said Mob as she put another layer of the foundation on Master Reigen's face. They were all mostly the same color and Mob didn't know what went where so she just used it all. Better to be safe than sorry.

"I'm sure you're doing just fine, Mob, besides it's not like we're going out anywhere so go nuts." Said Reigen. She wondered if she was going to end up regretting those words as she heard some of her drawers opening. Her vanity table drawers, thank God, and not her bedside or deskside drawers. Thank God that Mob wasn't the snooping type or she would have been traumatized. For a moment Reigen thinks that she might have left something incriminating out. She'd do a sweep through the place later when Mob was done. No need to give Mob something to discuss with a therapist in ten years.

"Ok, I just don't want to make you look bad. I don't really know what I'm doing. I can't even remember what the highlighter is for. Rei's been talking about it a lot. She stole some from her sister's room and she says that it makes all the difference but I can't tell." Said Mob

"Honestly, Mob, I have no idea what it's for either. I tried it once but it just made me look way too shiny." Said Reigen

"Oh….I'll leave it alone then." Said Mob

"No, you can try it, like I said it's not like I'm going anywhere so go wild." Said Reigen

"That's true. It's really late. Where would we even go?" asked Mob. She wasn't usually out this late. Right now her family should have been finishing up dinner. What did Master Reigen usually have for dinner? Was she lonely being here all on her own? Or did she spend all of her time with Serizawa now since they were dating?

"It's also raining buckets out there. I wouldn't go out in this even if you paid me." Said Reigen. The rain was still pounding on the windows. She wondered if the roof would start leaking again. Well if it did then it was the landlord's problem. Mob wouldn't care. She had been worried, a little, about Mob seeing the state of her home but this was Mob. She didn't care. She was fourteen, her room was probably just as much if not more of a disaster area.

"Master, I just realized something. I don't know what you do after work." Said Mob

"Me? I come home, I watch TV, I have dinner, read stuff on the internet, then I pass out and I do it all again." said Reigen giving Mob the basics of what she did. No need to tell Mob everything. Not that she was going to be going out, getting drunk, or hooking up with anyone in the foreseeable future. Not that she missed it. She just hadn't done the girlfriend thing in a while.

"Oh….ok." said Mob

"What's up?" asked Reigen

"Don't you get lonely being here all alone? Or do you spend all of your time with Serizawa now since you're his girlfriend? Are you going to move in with him? Are you going to get married? Are you-" asked Mob quickly as she brushed sparkly powder all over Master Reigen's face quickly. She was fine with Master Reigen going out with Serizawa. She was happy for her, even. Love was a beautiful thing and Master Reigen deserved to have someone who loved her. She wasn't going to replace Mob or close the business or anything like that. Serizawa wasn't the sort of person to make Master Reigen do that and Master Reigen was not the sort of person who would let someone tell her what to do anyway. She had stood up to Sho's dad after all.

"Mob, slow down. He and I literally just got together. We haven't even discussed any of that yet." Said Reigen. Kids. Everything was so dramatic with them. These things took time, lots of time, time that Reigen most certainly had. She wasn't worried about them not moving forward and eventually dying in the water like an injured shark or anything like that. No. She was not worried at all.

"But you're adults and you like each other. Isn't that what adults who like each other do? They move in together and get married and have babies and stuff?" asked Mob

"Not right away! Mob, you've been reading too many of those weird mangas, you know that? They're poisoning your mind." Said Reigen

"They are?" asked Mob

"Of course they are, Mob, and I am not just talking about the weird one with the neck biting-" said Reigen

"Alpha/Beta/Omega? It's not that weird once you get used to it." Said Mob

"I read three volumes of that thing and I could not get past the neck biting." Said Reigen with a laugh. Mob shook her head.

"It's romantic. It means that they're going to be together forever. That's what you're supposed do…isn't it? When you're in love?" asked Mob. Reigen took a moment. She reached behind her and played with one of the braids Mob had plaited into her hair. Mob was young, she believed in love and romance and happily ever after. Reigen didn't want to rain on her parade….but she didn't want her to walk around with her head in the clouds either…because heartbreak came for everyone eventually.

"In a perfect world, yes, but life doesn't always work out that way." said Reigen

"It doesn't? I mean I know that people break up but it most work out for some people, right?" asked Mob

"Some but not all. I mean, things don't always work out the way we plan…and that's ok. Sometimes we have set backs but it's important to get back up again and keep…going." Said Reigen. Even though she was, in that moment, the world's biggest hypocrite.

"Are you talking about breaking up?" asked Mob. She couldn't imagine anything worse that could happen in a relationship. The thought of breaking up with Teru…it's so sad and scary…and she doesn't think that she could get back up again if that happened...

"Well…hey! How about I braid…or I guess rebraid….your hair?" asked Reigen quickly. She got up and sat Mob down at the vanity. She undid Mob's braids and grabbed her brush, the nice one with the gold colored handle that she got for Christmas, not her usual not so gently used pink one that was missing half of it's bristles but still got the job done.

"That feels nice." Said Mob as she let her hair get brushed. Mom used to brush her hair when she was little but it had never been this gentle.

"I'm trying to go slow. My mom used to brush my hair like she was trying to rip it out at the root." Said Reigen as she brushed even though Mob's hair didn't need it. How was her hair this straight? Reigen had always been jealous of the actually Japanese girls…not that she was jealous now. No, she was almost thirty, too old for that.

"My mom used to brush my hair like that too." Said Mob as she leaned back and let Master Reigen work the brush through her hair. It was so nice. She usually just brushed her hair as fast as possible, it never occurred to her that it could be nice. She just let herself enjoy this…or she tried to at least. She just couldn't help but think about what Master Reigen had said.

"Master? Are you worried about you and Serizawa breaking up? I just can't stop thinking that you're scared of that." Said Mob. Reigen stopped brushing for a moment as she contemplated just what to say. She always had to be careful when it came to the kids, especially Mob, because she was so, well, young and sensitive.

"I…it's never fun. I mean I don't want us to break up, nobody wants that, I just…I don't like to move too fast. You're young, not that I'm old, but for you it's all this great big hurry. For people my age it's a lot slower going, ok? I don't know if I'm going to marry the guy and we'll move to a big house in the country and have forty sons and forty daughters or anything like that but I do know that it's been a good week and that's enough for me right now." Said Reigen as she pared Mob's hair into two sections and began to braid it. Just two braids, not the…Reigen couldn't even count….braids that Mob had plaited into her hair.

"….how do you know if you're going to break up, though? I mean…nobody's ever broken up with me before…and I don't want to start." Said Mob

"Well if one of you has been unhappy for a while…but I don't think that you and Haystack are going to break up any time soon." Said Reigen as she finished one of Mob's braids. How did she have so much hair? And had it always been that long? Damn Mob was lucky.

"How did you know I was worried about me and Teru breaking up?" asked Mob

"Because I know you." Said Reigen simply.

"I don't think that me and Teru are unhappy but he won't…I mean we…" said Mob. Reigen could feel her hair trying to float away as well as Mob's. She knew Mob. Nervous. But what was getting her so nervous?

Oh. One of those things.

"You're fourteen, Mob, slow down…and before you ask how I know let me reiterate that I know you. I know when you're nervous, Mob, and I know what you're nervous about. I was your age once too, you know, and please listen to me when I say that you are way too young. Ok?" asked Reigen as she finished Mob's braids. They looked nice…not that Mob noticed. She was looking down at her feet, now. Reigen sighed.

"Ok, ok, you're not that young. If you want something then I guess…talk about it? Communication is key. Just…always communicate and be safe in…whatever it is your do." Said Reigen

"Master! I don't even…." Said Mob. She tucked her head down into her nightshirt. Well Master Reigen's nightshirt. Reigen shook her head and gave Mob's braid a tug. Not a hard tug, just a playful one. Mob knew, she didn't need to be told. Master Reigen could read her and she could read Master Reigen, which was good because she had trouble reading people a lot of the time. She understood Master Reigen though. it was nice, like they were best friends.

Master Reigen was kind of like her best friend.

"Come on, let's go do some sleepover stuff." Said Reigen. She grabbed a candle off of her vanity and walked over to the kitchen. Mob followed her, her feet sinking down into the carpet. It was nice. Her house only had wooden floors. It was nice in there, even if it smelled like smoking.

"Master, what are we doing now?" asked Mob as she entered the kitchen. It wasn't like her kitchen at home. Mom had everything in it's place and Mob wasn't allowed to touch anything because she might have messed something up. Master Reigen just sort of had things…everywhere…but that seemed normal for her. Not a lot of dirty dishes, everything was just sort of…out there.

Also she had lot of cups and plates with dogs on them. That was nice.

"We, student, are going to divine the mysteries of the future….with candle wax." Said Reigen as she turned the stove on and lit the candle. The kitchen was then filled with the smell of what the candle promised was the spirit of Christmas. It smelled like gingerbread and gg nog and chemicals but it was still nice.

Also apparently Mob was going to either grow up to be a painter, a lumberjack, or a wax saleswoman if the candle was to be believed.

Or maybe it meant that nail painting would come next, which it did. Master Reigen had almost as many colors as Rei did, and she was better at staying in the lines, too. Mob had to use her powers, it was just easier, and she painted Master Reigen's nails in twenty different shades of red. Mob didn't even know that they had twenty different shades of red but they did and Master Reigen had them all and they all looked nice. Mob's nails were just one shade of pink, mom said that she was too young for red, not that Mob got how she could be too young for a color. Colors were colors and they were all good.

The whole sleepover was good.

Mob thought so and Master Reigen agreed.

They needed to do this more often.


	31. Keeping Steady

Serizawa wasn't a big drinker.

Miss Reigen was, though, and that was why they were a bar. This was her favorite little watering hole, she had said, before she sat him down at a comfortable leather chair with a low table in front of it and went off to get them drinks. He had no idea what he would have liked but she said that she knew what was good.

He was not a fan of old fashioneds.

Or whiskey sours.

Or highballs.

But she was. Every time he turned his nose up at a drink she downed it for him. That was nice of her, not letting it go to waste, at least it seemed like it had been nice of her at the time. At the time. Because now he strongly suspected that she was drunk.

"Ok…ok…ok…do you like sake? Everyone likes sake! I'm going….sake. We just had a big job and we are going to CELEBRATE!" she shouted that last part. Some people cheered with her. She knew everyone here, it seemed like, and they knew her….and that was a good thing. Even though a lot of the men who had said hello to her had been sort of…put out…when she introduced him as her boyfriend.

Of course other men wanted to be with her, she was Reigen Arataki.

"Wait…um….I don't really like sake either…"said Serizawa. She would come back with sake and drink more and then get even drunker and she could do whatever she wanted, she was a grown woman, but he wasn't sure what to do if she ended up drinking too much and making herself sick or something. Well he'd take her to the hospital but that wasn't something that he wanted to do if it could be avoided.

"Seriously? You sure you're Japanese?" she asked. She laughed when she asked him and then reached across the tiny table and poked him in the chest. Her finger lingered, there, as she laughed some more. His face must have been turning as red as her nails. He could feel the warmth of her through his shirt…she felt nice…she was nice….this whole thing was nice…

"A-At least half. I never knew my father." Said Serizawa. She pulled her hand back and shook her head.

"Said the wrong thing to you…shouldn't have said that….I know how hard it is to be half….society sucks…" she said. She reached over and took of drink of something that must have just been ice water at that point. He slid her a glass of water, his glass of water, with her powers. That was good when you drank too much, right?

"You didn't. It really doesn't bother man anymore, not having known my father. It used to when I was a kid but now…well…it doesn't really matter to me. I have my mother anyway and she's been really good to me over the years." Said Serizawa. He wondered what mom would think of Miss Reigen. She would probably be happy that he had found someone. Mom had asked him, before, back when he had been stuck in his room if he ever thought about leaving his room to go meet women or anything like that. Of course he said no. He had nothing to offer a woman back then and even now he felt like he had nothing to offer Miss Reigen. She was still with him, though, even though he had no idea why.

She was talking about her own family now, about how her parents weren't that great, and about how she didn't care either. He listened to her. She had spoken before about her family but never so…freely. She had always seemed so free before. She was free with her joy when she was happy and free with her affection towards the kids and free with pretty much everything but her laughter, which she hid behind her hand, but now she was truly free. She didn't even hide her laughter behind her hand anymore….

"…and dad was so pissed! Like, I don't know how mom swung it but me and her got to keep the house! God…served him right. He was not taking my house from me. I was not moving to America, hell no, not that I have a-anything against them…I just didn't want to move to a whole 'nother country…." He nodded as she told him about her childhood. He listened but had trouble ever imagining her as someone who would just go along with all of that. Her parents being so awful to her and such. She had stood up to the President when he had been about to kill her. He couldn't ever imagine her giving in to anyone. She was so strong, strong in the real way, stronger than him even though he could lift her…and had lifted her…

She was talking about that now. He had zoned out for a moment and she had jumped to a new topic of conversation. Something else he liked about her, she always had something to say. She was nothing like the President, who mostly spoke AT him rather than WITH him…and who he was over anyway.

"….like how are you that strong? You just lifted me up like it was nothing…and I am not light let me tell you…" she said. She downed his water and then frowned at the glass. She looked like she was about to get up and he just…he wanted her to be near. Not just because he was worried about the way she teetered on her heels as she got up but also because this was a new place and he was still nervous in new places. He had a routine that he liked to follow, and the only times he ever went to new places were with other people. Sho was always dragging him places. Parks, abandoned buildings, ice cream shops and candy shops and places where for five hundred yen you could sit for an hour and pet cats. Sometimes he went other places with other people but he was largely a creature of habit.

Not like her. She was always trying new things and going to new places and just living life. Maybe some of that would rub off on him if he spent more time with her.

But he couldn't if she got up again.

"Y-You aren't heavy….and also I kind of cheated…I used my powers that time." said Serizawa. She threw her head back and laughed. It was a loud sound, one that he knew he was supposed to have found embarrassing but didn't in the slightest, and he wanted to hear her laugh like that every moment of every day….

"Seriously? Why not just use your powers to get that box down for me? Or anything else? Not that I'm complaining, not at all, you can pick me up whenever you want to." She said. Her eyes met his when she sat that and his heart started beating so hard and so fast. God her eyes were beautiful. She was beautiful. Her eyes were so blue and her lips were so red and her hair was so yellow. She was so many colors, she was like a rainbow, and like the skittles commercial said he wanted to-

He could have gotten up and-

But that would have been way too much too soon.

She needed time, probably. She was in this because she liked him as a person, not for…all of that. He had gone almost thirty years without ever having had kissed a woman, he could go for a few more weeks or months or years or however long it took. Women were different like that. They needed a lot of time to get used to the idea of those sorts of things. Besides, if he pushed her too fast then she would think that he was only after one thing and leave him for someone who didn't push her boundaries.

"I-I would never pick you up again…without asking. I just sort of…it was the first thing that came to mind, I guess, and I just hadn't been thinking….I'm sorry." Said Serizawa. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers. This was ok, she had initiated it, and hand holding was the first thing that couples did together when they got together so it was a good sign. There had to be at least four to six weeks of handholding before the subject of kissing could even be brought up. He had overheard the girls talking once, not that he had been eavesdropping, and not that he was taking all of his romantic advice from middle schoolers.

He also got advice from books and websites.

And all of the books and websites agreed that it was best to respect her boundaries and wait for her to make the first move. That way he knew that he wasn't putting pressure on her. Also he needed to give and make sure that he received enthusiastic consent. The internet had been clear that it had to be enthusiastic and not just a begrudging ok. Not that he would ever pester her or begrudge her.

"You know what I think? I think that….that you just wanted to…to….be ro-romantic. I think that you just wanted to sweep me off my feet and you know-know what? It worked. God Serizawa, you're so...I would have let you…no. Bad Arataki. Gotta be….gotta be respectful…" she said. She hiccupped when she said that. It was cute. She was so cute then. Her hair was coming out of her bun and she had some lipstick on her tooth and she was resting her head on her hand and just looking at him…

She was so cute.

She was so beautiful.

And he would have kissed her right then and there if he could.

"You-you are respectful and…and you're right. I think that I just wanted to show you how strong I was because I heard that girls…women! Women liked that. You're a woman, not a girl, and women don't like to be called girls." Said Serizawa. He had written that one down ages ago when he first started working with her. He had never worked with a woman before so he had to do a lot of research and took some notes. It was a habit of his, one that he had been trying to break, and one that he had not broken. Up his sleeve he had some useful notes for dating.

Respect her boundaries.

Do not stare at her breasts, legs, butt, or really anywhere that wasn't her eyes.

Always split the bill.

Carry gum just in case

Carry condoms just in case

And those were just the notes that he could see peeking out of his sleeve. He knew that he wasn't going to get to any situation, yet, where he would need number four and he knew that number five was out of the question for the foreseeable future but at the time those had seemed like very important notes. Dating had a lot of rules and pitfalls and he did not want to make a mistake and end up ending this thing before it even began. Not that it hadn't begun but he wanted….he wanted a lot of things with her. Not just sexual things, and not that he would ever admit to himself that he wanted sexual things with her, but he also wanted to cuddle and wake up with her and cook dinner with her and go for walks in the park and dates and all of the other stuff that couples did.

He loved having a girlfriend.

And he would hate to lose her.

"No we do not…God you're thoughtful. I don't know how the hell I ever ended up with a guy like you. I like you a lot you know. God…if we were ten, no, fifteen years younger I would have snuck you in through the garden door months ago…." She said with a wistful look on her face.

"Garden door?" asked Serizawa

"Yeah. Growing up my house had a garden and the backdoor opened up right to it. Mom always thought that she was punishing me by making me work in the garden but I enjoyed it. Gave me an outlet for all of my teenage angst and aggression. I used to work out there all day long sometimes and then at night I'd 'forget' to lock the door and then after my mom went to bed I'd sneak guys up to my room and…and I should not be telling you about this. Nope. This is not something that you want to know about. Not something that you want to know about at all." She said. She took another mostly empty glass, this one still had some liquid besides water at the bottom, and downed it.

He watched her.

He was not so insecure that things that she did fifteen years ago bothered him. No, he knew that she had most likely been in other relationships before. She was a beautiful and intelligent woman, he was surprised that she wasn't beating prospective suitors off with a stick, and it didn't bother him. No. He may have been bothered, though, by the same thig that bothered him back when the rest of the Ultimate Five would share stories of their childhood foibles.

He just could not relate.

He had zero stories to trade. He spent his adolescence in his room playing videogames or watching TV or wasting box after box of tissues. He had nothing to share and had wasted fifteen, no, eighteen years of his life…but now he was making up for lost time. He had a job and friends and a girlfriend and he was doing what adults did with their girlfriends and he was going to make the most of his adult years.

But he couldn't if his girlfriend was beating herself up.

"I say the stupidest shit sometimes…I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. That's what I do best, I run my goddamned mother fucking mouth and ruin everything…" she was sad, now, and he did the only thing he could do. He reached over, he took her hand, and he assured her that everything was going to be alright. That was all that he had ever needed when he got like that. Human contact. Someone there to make him feel like he was going to be alright. That everything was going to be alright. That was what everyone needed, someone. Everyone needed a person and he was her person and she was his and they were each other's people and how were her hands this soft? And her eyes that soft? And how had he gone almost thirty years without ever having had a woman look at him like that? And how was he supposed to just carry on with life after she finished looking at him like that?

"Serizawa….I like you a lot…" she said. Her voice was so melodious even though she wasn't singing. She was just…how could any human being have been as perfect as she was?

"I-I like you a lot too….Miss Reigen…" said Serizawa. She laughed again, but not at him, never at him. She laughed and then giggled. Her giggled was like little bells, the kind they had at Christmas time, and he wished that he would have some way of hearing that sound every moment of every day for the rest of his life…or until it drove him mad because, realistically, it would…and now he was poking holes in his own romantic fantasies. His therapist said that he brought himself down too much. Maybe she had a point….

"But I think that I should go home now because I have had way too much to drink and I've been saying the stupidest shit all night…and I should go…." She said. She tried to get up but she fell back down into her chair. Her shoes were too high, maybe. Serizawa had always been amazed that she could balance on shoes that high. She had shoes for life and shoes for work but Serizawa didn't understand what the difference was, they were all super high and it looked like a balancing act just to be able to move around in them.

"Wait! I mean…let me help you." Said Serizawa. He got up, walked over to her, and offered her his hand.

"You-you don't have to-" she said shaking her head.

"But I want to. I want to help you. That's what you're supposed to do for you…girlfriend…right?" asked Serizawa. The word girlfriend still had some novelty to it. He had a girlfriend, a real live girlfriend, and she wanted to be with him and had feelings for him and just thinking about it made his heart feel like that doki doki chat sticker and now her hand was in his again and he could feel his powers starting to act up and he needed to calm down and-

"Oh God…how are you this sweet? You're giving me diabetes here…or maybe it's the fact that I eat like crap…that might be it. Gotta stop eating so much garbage….gonna get sick….gonna get fat…not that there's anything wrong with being fat…fuck you mom and your messed up body image issues that you kept trying to project onto me…not fat…gonna eat some shrimp chips…." She muttered as she grabbed his hand and pulled herself to her feet. He steadied her with his powers…and also put an arm around her just to be safe. Better to be safe than sorry.

"….shrimp chips and mayo…that real mayo…gotta get home though…do you even know where I live?" she asked. It took him a moment to realize that was addressing him and not just muttering. He made a mental note, though, to pick her up some shrimp chips…both the ones made from shrimp and the ones that tasted like shrimp…and also the ones that looked like shrimp…just to cover his bases…

Right. He had been asked a question. Now was not the time to think about grocery shopping.

"No…not really. I was planning on you leading me there…" said Serizawa. She leaned into him and rested her head on the crook of his neck. He could feel her breathing. He could feel her breath across his neck and the rise and fall of her chest and-and she was so close…

"Take me home, Serizawa." she said. He nodded and helped her walk home. She didn't mean anything by it and even if she did she was drunk and one did not take advantage of drunk women. Ever. That was not ok and he would not do that to her. He was just going to walk her home and he did walk her home and it was the nicest walk of his life.

And not just because he got to hold her the whole way there.

Purely to keep her steady, of course, and not because he liked how warm and soft and perfect she was.


	32. Idle Conversation

Mob liked ice cream. Tome liked ice cream. Rei liked ice cream. Since they all liked ice cream they decided to have it together.

Master Reigen said that she didn't need them that day. Mob still wanted to stay but Tome had dragged her out the door. She said that Master Reigen and Serizawa had been giving each other 'looks' and those looks could only mean one thing…then Rei started laughing…and then Mob knew what Tome was talking about.

Not something that was her business.

But good for Master Reigen. Mob was happy, they all were, that she had found love. Maybe Mob's mom would stop calling her a Christmas Cake. That seemed like such a mean thing to call someone…and such a terrible thing to be. Not having love. Mob didn't think that people expired at twenty five like they were milk or something but she did know that nobody wanted to die alone, nobody deserved to die alone, especially not Master Reigen.

Or Serizawa, but it was different for boys.

Mob didn't want anyone to die alone and she wanted everyone to be happy and Master Reigen was not replacing her and it was fine and everything was fine and everyone liked ice cream so she went to get ice cream with Tome and Rei. Yes, it was fine. A good time of ice cream, conversation, and people watching.

"Those are definitely pod people." Said Tome as she dug her spoon out of her ice cream sundae and pointed at a man and a woman waiting in line. They were dressed in identical grey shirts and tan pants. They had the same white gym shoes, the same black socks, and even the same haircut.

"You think? Maybe they're just, like, brother and sister or something." Said Rei. Those people's outfits made no sense, none at all, but she doubted that they were pod people.

"I don't think that brothers and sisters are supposed to dress alike. Ritsu and I don't dress alike…well sometimes I borrow his T-shirts…oh! Rei, do you still have the purple EVA shirt I lent you? Ritsu wants it back." Said Mob. She didn't think that those people looked like pod people, mainly because there were no such thing as pod people. If aliens really came to Earth she doubted that they would try to assume human form. First impressions were important and first contact was no time to be deceptive.

"It's…somewhere in my room. Does he need it back right away?" asked Rei omitting the fact that she had been using that shirt as a pillow case since Mob had lent it to her.

"Kind of. It was Sho's before he borrowed it and I didn't know that it as Sho's when I took it from the clean laundry or when I lent it to you." Said Mob

"Why are you lending things that aren't yours in the first place? I thought that you were all about following rules. Don't tell me that I'm starting to corrupt you." Said Tome scraping her spoon against the side of her ice cream bowl. Mob shook her head.

"You could never corrupt me, Tome, because you're a good person. Even if you sometimes do bad things you're still a good person. Also me and Ritsu share T-shirts sometimes and I didn't think that he would miss it….but he kind of does. Kind of a lot." Said Mob

"Your brother is such a pod person. Who gets that worked up over a t-shirt?" asked Tome

"Ritsu does, I guess. I think he just misses it because it was from Sho. Sho's his best friend I think, they're always spending time together." Said Mob

"I'll give it back next time I come over, I guess." Said Rei. Darn. She knew that it was weird, using his shirt like a pillow case, but she could admit that she turned into a total pod person when it came to him. She liked him and she couldn't stop liking him so she had might as well embrace the fact that she liked him. Really it was the healthiest thing to do. Even if he didn't like her back. Or maybe he did. Mob could be very guarded with her feelings and he was her little brother after all…

"You guys can come over this weekend and we can have a sleepover at my house so long as we're quiet and don't go through the fridge again, my mom says." Said Mob. Last time Mob had Rei and Tome over they had been too loud, mom said, and eaten the family out of house and home, mom had also said. Mob didn't think that they were that loud, they kept the volume at fifteen, and they hadn't eaten that much…only a block of cheese and a liter of milk and a pint of berries and two things of ice cream.

"Yes to the sleepover but no to your house. Mob, I love you but your mom is like an adult version of your brother….no thanks." Said Tome

"Yeah, I mean your family is super nice and all but….um….she can be kind of grumpy sometimes. Sorry." Said Rei

"Oh. I guess that she can be like that sometimes. I wanted to have a sleepover, though…" said Mob

"We can go to my house, we just have to be out before my mom and dad come back from their overnight shifts." Said Tome

"I don't want to get you in trouble." Said Mob

"We can go to my house! I mean, if you guys want to. No pressure. We could always go to Mob's house and just not bother her mom. We could hang out with Ritsu, and Sho too if he's there." Said Rei playing with her spoon. She shouldn't have vetoed the whole Mob's house thing to fast. Ritsu was there and he would be there all night. Last time she hadn't been able to speak to him in private or anything else because Sho had been there but maybe this time…and either way Sho might have been there and Sho was really nice and funny and he always had cute animal pictures….

"Pod person." Said Tome flicking her spoon at Rei. First years in love were so adorable. It was so amazing to think that she had, at one point, been that age. It seemed like a lifetime ago. At least she had never been so weird about a guy. Nope. No point in chasing guys, either they came to you or they didn't, or you wore them down…which was totally different than chasing them.

"Am not. I just think that if Mob wants to have us over then we should…maybe entertain the idea…" said Rei twirling her spoon. She looked into the future and saw…fun sleepover…at her house…and then it all got super fuzzy….but no Ritsu. Darn it!

"Well I vote your house." Said Tome. Rei's sister may have been kind of a bitch to them but Rei's mom let them eat anything, watch anything, and do just about anything. They still couldn't climb up on the roof and watch the stars, though, even if Mob could have easily caught them if they fell off.

"Me too. I like your house, Rei, we have more stuff to do. We could do more food hacks if you want to…or something like that." Said Mob. She liked Tome's house best because she had all the games consoles but she wasn't about to be mean to Rei like that. She wouldn't have minded going to her house but Rei could be such a pod person, to borrow a word from Tome, when it came to Ritsu. Not that she wasn't happy that Ritsu had someone who liked him and not that she didn't want Rei to, eventually, be her sister or anything like that.

"OK, I guess we could go to my house…but your house is still on the table! I mean, if you want to. I mean I have no problem going to anyone's house. That's what I mean." Said Rei. Tome rolled her eyes. So transparent. She would never even begin to understand what the fascination with Mob's little brother was. First years were such a weird bunch.

"…who's orders a sundae but all bananas?" asked Mob changing the subject. There. Plans were made. No need to start Rei up about Ritsu. Not that Mob minded, she didn't, it was just still kind of weird that her friend was in love with her brother, that was. Just a little weird. Mob didn't mind, not much, not at all.

"Pod people. They've just assumed human form and they're trying to infiltrate our society." Said Tome as she not so discreetly took a picture of the two weirdo's eating nothing but bowls of bananas. Hey, if they didn't want their pictures taken then they shouldn't have been such weirdos.

"It's hard, I think. I mean it would be hard. There are a lot of rules and stuff to remember. Even I have trouble with them sometimes." Said Mob

"Well that's just because society sucks." Said Tome

"You think everything sucks." Said Rei

"Not everything sucks, just a lot of things, and they'll never stop sucking unless we acknowledge that they suck." Said Tome

"Still, all of society can't suck." Said Rei. She didn't want to live in some no society bad future scenario like she had seen in countless movies. She liked having the trains come on time and clean water in her house and being able to exchange money for goods and services and other such things they had learned about in economics class.

"The sucky parts suck." Said Tome

"There's not that many of those, though. I mean there are a lot of rules and stuff but they don't all suck, like the rules about being nice to one another. We should all be nice to each other all the time otherwise we'll hurt each other's feelings." Said Mob

"I think that there are. Like why everything thinks that we're kids and we can't make any decisions at all about our lives." Said Tome. Life was so unfair sometimes. She was fifteen, she could decide when she wanted to get up and go to bed and what she wanted for dinner and when she wanted to see her boyfriend and what she wanted to do with him and how long she would spend on the room looking up at the vast expanse of the universe and realizing how small she truly was….

"But we are kids." Said Mob. Fourteen was still a kid even though she didn't feel like one all the time. Not that she minded her life that much. Mom told her that she wasn't allowed to buy her own shoes or clothes or wear make up or anything like that but she didn't have to worry about adult things like  
Master Reigen did.

"We aren't little kids, though." said Rei. Now she knew what Tome meant. So it never got easier, even when you were a third year. She thought that things would have been different when she got to middle school but it was all just more of the same. Sit down, shut up, go to bed, get up, do this, do that like she couldn't run her own life! Even now she'd have to be home in a few hours because her parents still had the power to tell her when she needed to come home. Why was the age of adulthood so late in life? And who had the power to decide when someone was and was not an adult?

"But everyone treats us like we are! It's ridiculous! If I were born a hundred years ago I'd have been an adult buy now and-" said Tome

"If you were born a hundred years ago you would have been dead by now…because it had been a hundred years ago." Said Mob. As soon as she said it she realized that Tome was not being literal. Great. Fourteen years and however many days old and she still couldn't get a clue. At least her friends never made fun of her. That was the good thing about having friends, they never made fun of you.

"Mob, so you can be funny." Said Tome. Ok, that was good. There was a snarker inside of Mob this whole time. Who would've thought?

"Sorry. I didn't mean to-" said Mob

"No, no, no, you got me. Here, as a token of my legendarily good sportsmanship please accept the maraschino cherry from my sundae. Eat it in good health." Said Tome spooning her cherry into Mob's sundae.

"Um…thanks…" said Mob who was not entirely sure that it was sanitary to be sharing food like that.

"So she gets you once and she gets your cherry? I've been getting you for months and what do I get? Nothing." Said Rei half clearly kidding. At least Mob thought that she was.

"Rei, if you wanted my cherry you should have said something a year ago." Said Tome with a shrug.

"You know I didn't mean-" said Rei

"Honestly, Rei, unrequited love is the stuff of bad manga and office politics. You really should have said something. Now I'm in just the most awkward position-" said Tome dramatically with her head thrown back and her arm over her face. That was how Mob knew that she was kidding. She liked that about Tome, it was easy to tell with her a lot of the time.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that. Besides, unrequited love is the most beautiful kind of love anyway. When it's unrequited that makes it tragic and when it's tragic it's beautiful. That's why a lot of shows and manga and stuff get so boring when the main couple gets together." Said Rei

"It's sad, not beautiful, to be in love with someone for years and years and the person that you're in love with has no idea. I don't know. The only person I've ever really liked is Teru and we only knew each other for a few months before I became his girlfriend. It was still hard, though." said Mob

"Ok, in real life it sucks but in stories it's beautiful and tragic. When your whole thing is one of those will they/won't they things and then they finally kiss then it's, like, where do we go from here?" said Rei

"Smut." Said Tome with a shrug. She didn't care if the pod people across the way were glaring at her, this was a free country and she could say whatever she wanted.

"Tome!" said Mob

"What? You disagree? Mob, we both know what you keep on borrowing from me." Said Tome

"….I read it for the…love…" said Mob as she shoveled a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth way too fast. She really did read those fan stories and stuff for the love. There just so happened to be other stuff in the pages between the parts about love. That was all. Nothing more.

"Oh! Here, that reminds me, here's your manga back…sorry about the cola on it my sister snuck up on me while I was reading and then my drink spilled everywhere. Sorry." Said Rei as she fished a slightly sticky book out of her bag and passed it to Tome quick before the pod people glaring at them could see it.

"And this is why people don't want to lend you things." Said Tome as she flipped through her book. Mob tucked her chin down low and attempted to disappear into her shirt. They should not have been reading books like that out in public where people could see them!

"I said sorry. I'll get you another copy when I get my allowance again…or if I find more money in my sister's room, whichever comes first…and before any of you say anything she takes my money all the time. That's just how it works when you have a sister." Said Rei

"The glorious war of sisterly rivalry…this is why I'm glad I'm an only child. Remind me to thank my parents for either using protecting or being in a dead bedroom sort of relationship for the past fifteen years. Really, I am so glad I don't have someone messing with me and fighting with me all the time." Said Tome

"I don't think that Ritsu and I would fight…if he were a girl I mean. I think that we would all be best friends and he'd be here with us…and he'd be called Ritsuko because he'd be a girl….and he'd hang out with us all the time and stuff like that...and also he'd let me braid his hair." Said Mob

"He could still be called Ritsu if he were a girl. I knew a girl named Ritsu once." Said Rei

"No, his name would have to rhyme with mine. That's how it works with sisters. That's why you and all of your sisters have names that start with the 'r' sound I think." Said Mob

"I know! I hate it, it's like mom and dad wanted us all to be a matching set. Rumi, Rin, Riko, and Rei. I am so glad Rumi and Rin are at university, that way people don't comment on our names all the time." Said Rei

"So I guess that you and Mob's little brother won't be carrying on the family tradition of 'r' names then?" asked Tome

"No. I don't know what kinds of names Ritsu likes but I like Zuimu, Saki, Akiko, Kari, um….that's all the names that I've thought about so far." Said Rei

"Mob, any thoughts on your future niece or nephew's name?" asked Tome mostly just to watch Mob squirm.

"Um….whatever you guys want is fine I guess. I mean it's really none of my business what you guys want to name your kids…" said Mob. Nope. She did not want to think about this. She could be ok with Rei wanting to marry Ritsu and spend her life with him and become Mob's sister but this was an area that she did not want to think about at all. She knew, in vague terms, that this was what people did as they got married. She knew that people had kids but she also knew, now, that babies didn't come in the mail and she did not want to think about her friend, her little brother, or her friend and her little brother in that state of affairs.

"I don't want to take any names that you like, though, for when you have kids with Teru…or whoever! I mean I just know that you really like him and I can't really see a future where you break up any time soon!" said Rei

"Um….I like Shigeo for a boy and Takako, Ritsuko, and Shoko for girls. That's all that I've really thought about it….um…what about you, Tome?" asked Mob

"Me? I guess Atari just to be on the nose but unlike the two of you I am not itching to get into all of that. I'm a modern woman and I see that there's more to life than getting married and popping out a bunch of screaming kids." Said Tome

"I want more than that!" said Rei

"I don't. I mean, not really. I'm happy right now and I don't really want anything more than…I guess part two of this. I still want to be friends with you guys and I still want to be Teru's girlfriend and I still want to work for Master Reigen and I don't want anything to change when I become an adult." Said Mob

"Me too, except I want to go to university but I'll still hang out with you guys." Said Rei

"Well I mean you kind of have to. Didn't you just get through telling us how much you wanted to have Mob's little brother's kids?" asked Tome

"Tome! Rei didn't mean right this minute! She and Ritsu aren't even together yet." Said Mob

"Yeah, I meant in the future….but please don't tell your brother I said that. Any of that." Said Rei. Rei knew how skittish boys could be. Go and Takeshi had both run off when she tried to kiss them…not that Ritsu would have been so immature as to run away if she tried to kiss him but if he knew about all the things she stayed up all night imagining he would have sanded off his fingerprints, changed his name, and moved to parts unknown.

"I won't tell him, don't worry. I'm good at keeping secrets." Said Mob. She did not list the secrets that she was good at keeping, of course, like how messy Master Reigen's house was or how much her dad lost at pachinko or how Sho and Ritsu had sleepovers every single night. That would have been bad secret keeping.

"Such as?" asked Tome

"That wouldn't be good secret keeping, Tome. I don't tell people's secrets, nobody's, not even my own." Said Mob

"The labyrinth of your mind is an enigma." Said Tome

"This is why I know I can tell you anything, Mob." Said Rei. Mob really was a good friend like that. Rei know that she would never tell the future said so.

"Thanks you guys." asked Mob. Sometimes it was easy to tell with Tome and sometimes it wasn't. This was one of those times when it wasn't. Or maybe it was and just she was bad at it. Talking things. Conversation things. Social things.

But it didn't matter if she was good or bad at it. Not when she had friends who didn't care and liked her for who she was.


	33. Growing Up, Too Fast?

Master Reigen never took more than a fifteen minute cigarette break.

It had been….Mob reached into her skirt pocket with her powers and checked her phone…six minutes. Six minutes since Master Reigen felt the cigarette box in her jacket pocket and declared that she was going for a walk. That meant cigarette break, she just didn't like to let on how much she smoked, because she said that she was trying to quit. It was a bad habit, she said, and one that she didn't want Mob and everyone else picking up on. It was important to quit bad habits, Master Reigen had said, even if it was hard.

"Want to stop?" asked Teru, his thumb pressed against her cheek. He could feel it, probably, how warm she was. How red she was. She was always so warm and so red when they did this. From the tips of her ears to the tips of her toes she was red. Not that Teru had ever seen how red she was. Not that he had ever seen her from the tips of her ears to the tips of her toes.

Because that would have been a lot.

Especially for the storage room at work.

"No…I mean we still have time before Master Reigen comes back…she usually smokes for about fifteen minutes…so we have time…." Said Mob. She leaned into his hand. He seemed so much taller than her when they were like this…close like this. He wasn't that much taller than her but now…now it seemed like he was…and she was so much smaller…but in a good way. Kind of like he could keep her safe. From what she did not know. She had always been the one to keep him safe after all. There was nothing to be kept safe from.

Well besides getting caught.

"So I'll take that as a 'keep going' then." Said Teru. Mob closed her eyes. She wasn't the best at reading people but he was making himself loud and clear then. She closed her eyes and stood up on her tiptoes even though he wasn't that much taller than her. Maybe that was why Master Reigen wore high heels, so she wouldn't have to do this. Maybe Mob should have taken up wearing high heels. Maybe she should have taken up wearing high heels and pretty dresses and makeup because at that moment, the moment before it happened, she was so afraid that he would size her up and say something like 'you're not pretty enough' or 'you're not normal enough' and just walk away and out of her life forever-

But he doesn't.

He kisses her. His hand is still at the side of her face and he still kisses her. Soft and warm and perfect. She tastes kiwi when they break apart. That's his chap stick. She isn't wearing chap stick or lipstick or lip gloss or lip liner or lip stain or any of the multitude of things that you were supposed to wear on your lips so that they would be pleasant to another person and now, in the moment between kisses, she feels like maybe she should have. Maybe she should have been better prepared for this. Maybe this isn't enough for him. Maybe-

Another kiss. Another kiss to remind her that, yes, she IS enough for him. That she is the one who he's kissing, not anyone else, and he must have been enjoying himself. He must have wanted to do this with her. She was enough and she was his girlfriend and he wanted to do this with her and-

And his hand was around her waist. His hand was at the dip in her waist, the space where it flared out into her hip, and she had no idea why it felt so…what was the word for this, even? Like her stomach was full of pop rocks. Like someone had lit a firecracker in her chest. Like she was going to float away.

And she was.

The tips of her toes were leaving the ground, now, and she was taller than him. His hand was still on the side of her face and his lips were still pressed to his and she could still kind of taste kiwi and this moment was just so-so-so-so-

Perfect.

They broke apart for air, a necessity of life, and she slowly touched down. He pulled her back down to Earth where she belonged. Even though he made her feel like she was standing somewhere on top of the world, the universe, looking out at the vast expanse of everything…and she kind of was. He was everything. In that moment Teru felt like her everything. She felt like the world was him and her and that room and outside there was just….nothing. Not in a bad way, of course, but in more of a nothing to worry about sort of way. She had been so worried about getting caught…but now she wasn't.

She didn't want to.

Besides, Tome said that she would give the signal when Master Reigen came back. Mob remembered, then, that they had never agreed on what the signal was! And now, now that they had paused, the worries were coming back. What if she got caught? What if Master Reigen came in and found them in there together? Teru was supposed to be 'just visiting' because he distracted Mob, Master Reigen said, and also he and Rei argued about colors and decorating and stuff…but Rei wasn't there that day…but still…still maybe…

And then he kissed her.

And then there were no more maybes. No more worries. Because how could she worry when she was with him? She was with him and everything just felt so perfect. His hand on her waist, the other one had moved up to her hair. Some had come loose from her braid, her braids were coming undone, the ribbons had fallen, no, floated away…so much was floating. Floating because of her.

She was floating.

But he was holding onto her like a balloon. Like her hair and her waist and her lips were the string of a balloon and she was the part that was full of helium and she could and would and was and is floating away and-and-and-

"Reigen! Wow! You sure came BACK fast! It's nice to see you HERE again! Wow! I hadn't realized how much I'd miss you until you came BACK!" Oh. That must have been the signal. Mob came crashing to the ground….and so did several boxes…and she was the only person around who could have made such a crash, Serizawa was visiting his mother and Sho never hung around unless Serizawa was there, so of course Master Reigen knew that she was in there now…and Mob could not think of an excuse as to why she and Teru would have been in the storage room alone together. Maybe they were…playing sardines? With two players? In the storage room during work hours in which she was supposed to be sitting at her desk waiting for supernatural walk ins?

"You need to get your hearing checked, Tome, you know I always did suspect with all of the yelling-" said Master Reigen. Mob could hear the click, click, click of her shoes. She even knew which pair of shoes it was, the work ones with the really pointy toes. She was walking there in shoes perfect for kicking someone out….

"Ha! You're so funny Reigen! You're always so funny! Wow, boy are you funny! Why don't you just come back in here and tell some more jokes?! In here, right here!" said Tome. Well she shouted really loudly. Not loud enough that Mob couldn't hear Master Reigen's shoes come to a stop outside the storage room door…

"Do you have any idea how to turn invisible?" whispered Teru. Mob shook her head.

"No. That's Sho's trick." Said Mob. It was one of the few things that she couldn't do. It was hard to see when you were invisible, and it hurt a little too, so she had just given up. She had no idea when she would have needed to be able to turn invisible at the time. She wished that she had future vision, another power she didn't have. If she were Rei then she could have planned ahead. But she was not Rei, she was Mob, and she wished that she could switch places with Rei at that moment because at least then she wouldn't have been about to be in trouble….

"Uh-huh, sure. Anyway where's Mob?" asked Master Reigen

"The bathroom!" shouted Tome

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, sure. Ok, so if Mob's in the bathroom then where'd Haystack go?" asked Master Reigen. Mob crossed her fingers, toes, and braids. Tome could be a very good liar sometimes. She always knew just what to say to adults. She could convince her mom that she was sleeping over at Mob or Rei's house when she was really out in the mountains watching the stars or doing couple stuff with Inukawa. Tome would save her. Besides, Tome owed her for levelling up her character in Fantasy Hell for her all weekend.

"The bathroom! I mean home! I mean he went home because Mob was in the bathroom here! He's at home." Said Tome. That was a good lie. Mob couldn't have thought up a better lie herself…well she was a very bad liar. But Tome was a good liar, not that it was a good thing to be good at, lying. Sometimes people had to tell lies to save the feelings of others, that was what Master Reigen said, and she had been telling the truth then…

"Uh-huh. Ok so Mob's in the bathroom and her boyfriend went home to his own bathroom? That's the story you're going with?" asked Master Reigen. Mob knew that tone. That tone was accompanied by a shake of her head and then mutterings about things that she could not understand. All of those things meant that Master Reigen didn't believe a word that she had been told.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'STORY!?" said Tome. Mob could hear the scraping of her chair against the ground. She knew what that meant. Tome got up really suddenly and also might have climbed up on her desk even though Master Reigen told her a bunch of times not to do that. Mob heard Master Reigen sigh. It was almost drowned out not only by Tome's shouting by also Teru's laughing. Mob shook her head.

"Sorry. Nervous reaction." Whispered Teru. Mob knew what he meant. Her nervous reaction was making things float. Things, heavy things, were starting to float around them. A crystal bumped into a candle holder and the sound was as loud, to Mob, as a thunderclap.

"It really is a great story, you know, except for one glaring flaw. You see, if you're going to tell me that Mob's in the bathroom, you'd better make sure that the bathroom door isn't opened." Said Master Reigen

"Well obviously you scared her away! Jeez Reigen, can't you give someone a moment of privacy! You can't just go barging into places because it's your office!" said Tome

"Yes. Yes I can. I can but I choose not to. That's why I'm not going to investigate why my storage room is whispering and giggling." Said Master Reigen. Mob covered her mouth. Oh no. Well Master Reigen might have…assumed that it was ghosts! Yes! Ghosts were a perfectly valid explanation for-

"And don't give me any crap about spirits, either, because I know for a fact that spirits don't like to hang out around Mob. Besides, that's where I keep the salt. You hear that, Mob? Whenever you're done in there I'm going to need some salt!...got to exorcise any memory of this day from my existence…." Master Reigen was doing that thing where she talked to herself. Her shoes were clicking away, now, which was good.

Right?

Mob didn't know. All she knew was that Master Reigen wanted more salt and she had to give it to her…so that was what she did. Red faced, messy haired, she handed Master Reigen a thing of unblessed table salt from the restaurant supply place. Master Reigen didn't say anything but thank you…

And she also told Teru to get a move on.

And she also told Mob to hang back after Tome left. Mob waited at her desk while Tome took her time leaving. Master Reigen actually kicked her out when she retied her shoes for the sixteenth time. Mob wished that Tome had stayed. She didn't want to be alone for whatever awful thing was going to happen. What happened to people who kissed in the supply room? Termination? Flagellation? Mutilation?

Maybe nothing so dramatic.

Even though Master Reigen was certainly being dramatic. She was sitting at her desk with her fingers stabled together and a look on her face that Mob could not place. She sometimes looked away, started a sentence, and then just trailed off. Mob sat perfectly still, even her powers were still, as she waited for the hammer of judgement to fall upon her.

"Mob…listen….I'm not going to be a hypocrite but just…don't grow up too fast. Ok?" said Master Reigen after a while. Mob nodded. She nodded again when nothing else happened. She had been kissing at work! When she was supposed to be working! Also she had been kissing! Master Reigen would have been totally justified in telling her that she was in trouble and she…and she wasn't allowed to come by anymore…

But Master Reigen didn't say that.

She didn't say anything.

Her words just hung in the air. Don't grow up too fast. Mob didn't think that she was growing up too fast. She thought, if anything, that she wasn't growing up fast enough. She still hadn't done much of anything…not that she wanted to…well she did but not that she was going to. She wasn't growing up too fast at all…

"That's all. Just don't grow up too fast. I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not to do, God knows it didn't work for me when I was your age, but I will ask you to not grow up too fast or do anything that you're not one hundred percent ready to do." Said Master Reigen. She was looking right at Mob. Mob nodded again.

"I won't grow up too fast, Master." Said Mob because she felt like she should have said something. It felt like she should have said something because the long silence would have started again and the long silence could have been filled with the sort of things that her mom would have said to her….but Master Reigen was nothing like her mom….

"Good, good, good…good….and Mob…" said Master Reigen

"Yes?" asked Mob, her voice just a bit higher than it usually was. Now her hair was standing up again…and her desk was trying to follow it…

"Please, for the love of God, don't do any 'growing up' in the storage room again."


	34. A Walk in the Park

Serizawa didn't know, exactly, what counted as a date and what didn't.

He was pretty sure that this was a date, though, because it wasn't dinner. They had gotten dinner after work before they were a couple, Miss Reigen and him, and that made him think that not every time they had dinner after work counted as a date. He had read that women liked to give off signals, like what they wore or how they spoke to you or a thousand other things like that, but he was not even going to begin to try and interpret her intentions by the color or her dress or whether or not her hair was down or anything like that.

Besides, she was holding his hand, so her intentions were pretty clear.

"…of course the dog wasn't actually haunted, he just needed a good wash and some belly rubs, as all good dogs do. Dogs don't need to bathe that often, a lot of people actually over wash their dogs, but you can't just let your dog live outside for years and never wash him. The poor little thing had such matted fur…" said Reigen as she and Serizawa made their third lap around the park. Not the one close to work, Ankle Park, because she didn't want to risk running into the kids while she and Serizawa were on a…

Date?

She didn't want to put any pressure on him so she had just been keeping it loose. Hanging out, as the young people would say…and so would she because she wasn't old yet, damn it. This was a loose, pressure free, walk through the park after trying out a knew ramen place and not drinking. Emphasis on the whole 'not drinking' thing. She knew that she drank too much, especially when she was nervous, and often times ended up making a fool of herself. Like last time when he had to practically carry her home.

Yeah, that was attractive.

She hadn't done a thing to calm her nerves, though, besides smoke a cigarette on their first lap. That was two laps ago and now she was babbling like a parrot on speed. He was holding her hand and nodding as she spoke and she knew that she had to let him get a word in edgewise but every moment there was a pause she filled it. It was a compulsion and maybe she should have seen a professional about it. Yes, a team of professionals. At the university level. Working round the clock on her and only her.

Then maybe she could find a way to shut her mouth and let her boyfriend get a word in edgewise.

"I didn't know that about dogs." Said Serizawa when there was a slight break in what she said. He hated those. He could never think of what to say fast enough and then, obviously, she got bored. That was why she kept on talking. She had to hold up the conversation for two. He wasn't anything close to the wordsmith she was and he hadn't had much opportunity to practice. Sho never gave him a chance to talk, he was still working on patience, and neither did the girls….and at some point his social circle had turned into his girlfriend and a bunch of kids…

At least he had a social circle, now.

Though he wished he had more opportunities to practice the art of communication and conversation. It was like she was a university professor and he was still on baby's first book of phrases. She was probably so bored of him. She probably had a million other men just waiting to be with her. He wasn't blind, he knew the looks she got, and he knew that she could do so much better. Even back at the ramen place she had been turning heads. Why wouldn't she? She was beautiful and intelligent and brave and nurturing, pretty much everything anyone would ever want in a woman.

And he was just…himself.

Awkward. Very awkward. His awkward self.

"It's ok, a lot of people don't." said Reigen. She had been about to launch right into a tangent about her brief stint working as a dog groomer in university when she finally stopped herself. Did he sound bored there? He must have been bored. Of course he didn't want to hear her recite one of her monologues all night!

It was hard when the guy stuck around.

It was hard when she stuck around.

Relationships were just…hard.

Even now she had no idea what she was supposed to do next. They had gone for a walk in the park, a date staple, and had done three going on four laps already. He must have been bored. He was so good to her, listening to her go on and on about nothing, and he was too polite to tell her to shut up. God, her communication skills were craptacular. She talked and talked and talked but said nothing. Not like him. He was always very deliberate in what he said. He always chose his words so carefully…probably because she so rarely gave him a word in edgewise.

She gave him space now, to talk, even though she wanted nothing more than to pick up that tangent about the three semesters she spent as a dog groomer that ended in her getting that scar on her forearm.

"Um….dogs are…nice?" said Serizawa, his sentence turning into a question as he got to the end. She was waiting for him to say something. He didn't know what he was supposed to say, though, that would keep her interest. She liked dogs. He didn't know much about them but he had nothing against dogs or any other kinds of pets. He wished that he had something interesting going on in his life. Well of interest to someone other than himself. Like that model he had just built. Unit 0 from Evangelion, a new collector's version. He had several EVAs, of course, but this one was a new model that they had just released and he had just finished painting it and it was drying and it looked so cool and hopefully it was done drying by now unless Sho tried to play with it again, in which case he would have to repaint the whole thing….

And she would have no interest in that.

Not because she was a girl, no, but because he was boring.

"They are, they really are. You know what they say, dog is man's best friend! Heh. Yeah…they say…yeah…" said Reigen. They had stopped walking again. They were at the park gates. She wondered if they were going to take a fourth lap or if his ears had finally gotten sore and he was about to head home. He seemed like he was just itching to get to someplace quiet…or just away from her. He was shifting in place and looking down at his shoes…

Of course this was Serizawa, that could have meant literally anything.

"They are….but so are people! I mean people are best friends with…people…" said Serizawa. He wanted to smack himself upside the head as hard as he could until he lost his memory. That was so stupid! How could he have said something so stupid!? Now she was looking at him and biting her lower lip and the bottoms of her two front teeth were turning red and for a moment he thinks that he's been so awkward that she's bitten through her lower lip from the sheer awkwardness of it all and he wants to do nothing more than to run away and hope that she forgot that he had ever said anything to her at all and-

"You're right! I mean, yeah, people are meant to be friends with people. I mean I like dogs but you're not going to see me in one of those point on laugh shows because I have, like, fifty dogs in my apartment or anything like that. Heh. Yeah. I'm not going to turn into a crazy cat, dog! Dog lady anytime soon." Said Reigen. She couldn't help it. It was like the words just kept on coming out like…word vomit. How could she have said something so stupid!? Now he probably thought that she was awkward and weird and if he hadn't wanted to go running home before he probably did, now, and it was all her fault for saying all of that stupid stuff and-

"Yeah, I mean where would you even put fifty dogs? I mean not to say that your apartment is small! I mean I've never been inside of your apartment before so I can't speak to the size of it. I'm sure that it's very nice and you could fit as many dogs in it as you wanted to. I mean it must be bigger than my apartment, anyway. My apartment could probably hold about five dogs at the maximum….or however many Sho rescues when he's done rescuing cats…which I don't understand why he keeps on trying to store them in my apartment when there are shelters…but he says that shelters are cruel and I guess that I believe him….I mean he would know more about shelters than I do. That's where his hamsters came from, a shelter, not a pet store. He says that pet stores are cruel too….lots of places are cruel I guess. I mean I guess Sho would know…." Said Serizawa. Well now he had gone from saying none of the words to all of the words. Great. Just great. Now she was probably bored that he had just rambling on and on like that.

He was bad at this.

Communication and conversation.

And also at having a girlfriend. She had obviously stopped at the gates because she wanted to go home. Her feet probably hurt, she almost always wore heels, and she must have been cold too in that skirt. It was kind of short on her….stop looking!

She's up there!

No, higher!

Too high, stop looking at her eyebrows!

Now you're making too much eye contact!

Now not enough!

Come on, Katsuya, nobody is this bad at standing around and talking!

Well obviously someone has to be and obvoisly that someone is me.

No. Too much negative self-talk. Remember that your therapist said. Try. Always try.

"My apartment really isn't that great. I'm sure yours is nicer…not that I've ever seen it but I'm sure that yours is very nice. I mean why wouldn't it be? I bet that you're, like, really neat. I don't know, you just strike me as a really neat person. I'm not. I live like a university student, a lazy one. If you saw my apartment you'd head for the hills. It's like my mother always said 'not even a farmer would keep a pig like you, Arataki.' Yeah, mom was…she never really approved of anything I did. Not that I'm all hung up on my mother or anything! Just….yeah." said Reigen. God damn it all to hell! She was worse at this than the kids! Mob of all people could have kept up a conversation better than she could! Mob!

She took a breath as she reached the end of what she said. He was looking at her with a look of…determination? Oh. That look shut her up better than any embarrassment could have. Right. He was the sort of person who was careful with his words and now he had some…and she had been monopolizing the conversation again. Right.

Arataki, shut the hell up and let your extremely patient boyfriend get a word in edgewise.

"Miss Reigen…I'm sorry. I'm bad at this and I'm probably boring you and you probably want to go home and I just…I really am very sorry." Said Serizawa. Honesty was the best policy, he had heard, and it felt good to be honest. To verbalize all of the anxiety he had been feeling. It was hard, talking, communicating, so maybe it was best to just confess that to her and get it over with.

She deserved someone who could keep up with her.

"Come again?" asked Reigen. Well that sure was…odd. What was he sorry about? She was the one going on and on and on like she was being paid by the word.

"I'm sorry for boring you. You have so much to say and it's all so interesting and I just…don't. I'm sorry." Said Serizawa. He wondered if he should have kowtowed. This felt like the sort of situation that would have warranted a nice, long, kowtow.

"Serizawa…what?" Reigen couldn't help it. She laughed. It came out as more of a snort than a laugh and that just served to make it all the worse.

"I'm sorry that I-" said Serizawa preparing to kowtow because he knew that he should have done that in the first place! God, he was so bad at this-

"No, no, you have no reason to apologize! If anything I've been the one boring you. I mean, you don't want to hear me rambling on and on about nothing. I haven't even been letting you get more than a word in every half hour! I'm the one who should be apologizing to you." Said Reigen. She was still holding his hand. She put her other hand around his for good measure. Just so that he would know how sorry she was. She really was sorry.

"Miss Reigen…you could never be boring! I mean I like listening to you talk…and it's not rambling. You have a lot of interesting things to say. I love hearing about your life. I just wish that I could…reciprocate. I mean you've lived so much and I've…I've pretty much wasted the last eighteen years of my life." Said Serizawa

"I was rambling. I ramble when I'm nervous and I…I'm glad you like my rambling…and I'd like to hear some of your rambling….too. You haven't wasted your life. Serizawa, and I would be happy to hear about your life or the things you like to do or, well, anything." Said Reigen. His eyes met hers for a moment before he looked down.

"You're too nice, you really are. I know that I've wasted my life. I mean….you just…you've lived so much more than I have and you have so much more going on-" said Serizawa

"Serizawa, no. That's not true." Said Reigen

"You're too kind….much too kind, Miss Reigen." Said Serizawa softly.

"You spend pretty much every single day with me, you know precisely how much I have going on and if you don't, well, it's not a lot. I go to work and then I go home and drink beer, eat junk food, shop online for stuff I don't need, and watch bad TV. That's me in a nutshell." Said Reigen

"N-No…there's so much more to you….you've done so much and you…I think that there's a lot more to you…and I wish that there was more to me. Anything to me." Said Serizawa. He was looking down at their shoes, now, because he didn't dare risk looking her in the eye. He didn't want to see what was there, in her eyes, because it could have been anything…

Maybe even something that he did not want to see.

But then he had no choice but to look into her eyes. He felt her warm hand on the side of his face. She was tipping his head upwards until their eyes met. Once she was done she kept her hand there, right there, and her other hand was in his and he felt somehow both hot and cold all over…

"Serizawa. Stop it. Stop putting yourself down. There's a lot more to you than you think and I would be happy to…to get to know you better. I mean…there's a lot to you and I wish that you would show me….God, this isn't coming out right." Said Reigen with a laugh. A short, bitter, thing. She was laughing at herself, then. She could talk, she could say words, but she couldn't say what she really meant.

"I think…I think that it's perfect…everything you say is so…perfect…because you...you're so perfect." Said Serizawa. He couldn't think, he could barely speak, every single thing that he wanted to say was getting jumbled in his head until…THAT…came out. It was the truth, of course, he did think that she was perfect but he also thought that maybe he shouldn't have been just…just going around and saying it. Was that too much? Was he coming on too strong? Was it too inarticulate?

Why was she just staring at him like that?

"T-Thanks…I….I feel the same way about…about you. I mean I really admire you! You've done so much and…and yeah. I admire you and I…I really like you and…and I guess that I feel the same way." said Reigen. She was, once again, just saying words. Things that popped into her head. She thought the world of him, she thought that he was wonderful, and she couldn't imagine herself with anyone else even though they had barely even been dating….

The L word had even come to mind a few times.

That word which she had sworn off ages ago. She didn't know what she would have said if he had dropped the L bomb on her this soon…or at any point…but perfect was something that she could work with. Could say back to him. She knew that she wasn't perfect, far from it actually, but that was how he felt about her…she felt like she was melting. She was warm all over and she was melting right then and there and she…she could feel it. The L word. For him. She knew that she wasn't perfect, nobody was perfect, and that she shouldn't have encouraged the use of that word…though it did feel good. It felt good and maybe…maybe she could let him apply it to her…and maybe she could let herself apply it to him. Even though she knew, objectively, that nobody was perfect and that perfection was an impossible standard to try and live up too…

Just shut up brain and let me have this!

"I-I really….yeah. I really like you, too." Said Serizawa. His heart was beating so fast he wondered if he was going to die. He felt like he was going to die. He could see his aura, and maybe she could, too. He felt like he was going to explode but in a good way. All hot and cold all over. Because of her. Because of what she said, what she meant, and what she was doing. She was still touching him and he…he didn't want her to stop. He never wanted her to stop. This was….perfect.

She was perfect.

She was still touching him and she was biting her lower lip again and the bottoms of her two front teeth were still red and he knew that he was staring where he shouldn't have been staring but he…he knew that he wanted to…but it was way too early for that! First of all he had never kissed a woman before, so it would be just God awful, and second of all if he were to lean in and kiss her he would only end up scaring her off. He was not one of those guys that women warned each other about, the kind that were only after one thing, and he was not going to push her into doing anything that she wasn't one hundred percent ready to do.

Even if he wanted to.

He wouldn't. He's wait for her, he'd wait as long as it took, because he was not going to be pushy! He was not that kind of guy at all. Nope. No way. He was not going to…to lean in and kiss her…and he knew that he shouldn't but he was leaning down and…

And this was a bad idea!

"Do you want to walk around the park again!?" asked Serizawa pulling himself back so fast her hand left the side of his face…and also his back hurt a little, too. Maybe too fast. Maybe too abrupt. She was looking at him like she was…

Disappointed?

"Sure, if you want to." Said Reigen. How stupid could she have been? She was turning into one of the kids. One day she would wake up and find herself aged back by about fifteen years. Of course he wasn't going to kiss her. It was way too early! He had never had a girlfriend before and here she was thinking that he was going to lean in and just…ugh! And why was she getting so hung up on him kissing her, anyway? She had kissed plenty of men before, she knew what it felt like, and she knew that she could and would have to wait for as long as he needed. This was all new for him and she was not going to do something stupid and ruin it. She was not going to push him too hard, no she would follow his timetable without a word of complaint. She was not one of those people who was after one thing and neither was he.

He wasn't after that.

So, then, neither was she.

A walk in the park was enough for the both of them.


	35. Everybody Gets One

Reigen hadn't been expecting this call for another three or four years at least.

"You can't hold me! I have rights!" Reigen sighed. She heard Tome's shouting the second she walked through the police station doors. This was not how she imagined this night going. Originally she had planned on watching some bad TV and trying her best to fix the damage all of that salt caused to her hands. She had even gotten a new moisturizer set and everything.

Seven steps to smoother hands! Money back guarantee!

"You have the right to remain silent. I'd suggest you exercise it." Said Reigen as she was led to the back of the precinct where two chairs, two kids, one police officer, and a bright green suitcase with a UFO sticker 'Property of Kurata Tome, do not touch, that means you' written on it awaited her. She had thought that they had been keeping Tome chained up by her ankles in a rat filled dungeon cell based on how loudly she was yelling. Nope, no cell, not even any handcuffs. Just her sitting in a metal folding chair next to a boy who looked like he was ready to pass out.

So this was the famous Inukawa, huh?

"Auntie Taki! Hey!" said Tome. She made a 'just play along' motion with her hand and Reigen rolled her eyes. Right. Now she was Auntie Taki. She wasn't going to say anything, though. Everyone got one and this was Tome's 'one'.

"Are you this girl's aunt?" asked the police officer that had been glowering over Tome and her very embarrassed boyfriend.

"Unfortunately. What's she done now?" asked Reigen trying to get into her best 'aunt' voice. She wasn't old enough to be an aunt yet. She wasn't even thirty yet. At least she wasn't supposed to be playing the part of Tome's mother…or grandmother.

"Ma'am, I am sorry to tell you this but I caught your niece and this boy in a compromising position atop the roof of the…um….Good Times Lie With…Inn…." Said the police officer turning a shade of red that Reigen thought might have been the harbinger of a stroke. Reigen could feel herself turning a similar color. Not that she was squeamish about these things, no, she knew what teenagers were like. She was not so far removed from her own youth that she had forgotten what it was like to be a teenager. Good for Tome, too, for finding someone. Yes. Reigen had no problem at all with what Tome had been doing.

The problem lay with where, exactly, she had chosen to do those things.

"Seriously? In public?" asked Reigen as she gave Tome her best 'what in God's name is wrong with you' look. Not that Reigen hadn't been guilty of the same thing when she was Tome's age but at least Reigen had an excuse back then. She knew for a fact that Tome's parents worked long hours, that was why they were so ecstatic when Reigen let Tome 'work' at Spirits and Such. So that Reigen would supervise her.

Fat lot of good that did.

"I-It wasn't what it looked like!" ah, so he speaks. That poor kid was sweating bullets and looked like he was about to pass out and die. Reigen wondered why he even bothered. There was no way to talk their way out of this.

"Yeah, we were just sky watching." Said Tome. Reigen rolled her eyes. Right. The skies. They just happened to be watching the skies together on top of an overpriced love hotel. Right. Sure.

How Tome thought she was going to get out of this one Reigen did not know.

"The charges could have been quite serious, ma'am, quite serious indeed. They were trespassing as well as engaged in…public indecency. Since this was a first offence, and they're so young, we've decided to release them to their families with a warning. This time. Next time we won't be able to be so lenient even though they're only juvenile offenders." Said the officer

"Oh, believe me, this is never happening again. Come on, Tome, let's get you home." Said Reigen. She motioned for Tome to follow her. Tome crossed her arms and got up with more stomping than was necessary.

"W-Wait! What about me!?" said Inukawa

"Yeah, Auntie Taki, what about…cousin? Inukawa?" asked Tome. Reigen shook her head. Nope. She was helping out one kid and only one kid. That night. Everyone got one, not two.

"She's kidding. Such a kidder, this kid. Oh Tome, come on. Auntie Taki has things to do this evening. Say goodbye to your boyfriend while you can, I'd imagine his parents will have a thing or two to say about this later. Step lively now dearie." Said Reigen. She pinched Tome's cheek for good measure. Tome glared at her and then shrugged at her boyfriend. Reigen felt for the kids, she really did, but she did not condone what they did. They were just kids, now, but they needed to know that this was not ok. This was something that could catch them some very adult charges down the road.

Reigen really hoped that Rei's prediction would not come to pass.

She didn't throw Tome to the mercy of her parents, though, because, well, it was kind of touching that Tome called her of all people. Not that Reigen knew what other adult that Tome could have called in this situation what wouldn't have gone running right to her parents. Reigen knew that the responsible thing to do would have been to call Tome's parents and tell them what happened….but she couldn't throw Tome to the wolves like that.

Next time, yes, if she didn't learn her lesson this time.

"Well, thanks, I'll see you when I see you. Later!" said Tome as they left the police station. If she thought that they were just going to part ways then she had another thing coming. Tome was not Mob but Reigen knew that if Mob had ever been in this situation…oh God….then Reigen wouldn't have just let her walk away. She would have told Mob exactly how dangerous what she had been doing was. She wouldn't have been mean, no, because really this was what the adolescent years were for, making mistakes like this…

But she would have talked to Mob about all of this.

And Tome really wasn't that much different from Mob. Ok, she was older and louder and wouldn't know shyness if it walked up and introduced itself but, really, they weren't that different. They were both dumb kids in love and growing up whether Reigen liked it or not. The only difference was that Mob did her growing up in Reigen's storage room and her boyfriend's apartment….yeah, she and Mob were going to have to have a talk…right after she and Tome had a talk.

That neither of them wanted to have.

She grabbed Tome by the collar before she could get away. The suitcase that she had been dragging behind her fell to the ground with a clank.

"Hey! Let go! That was expensive!" said Tome. Reigen let her go but kept her within arm's reach in case she tried to bolt, as she tended to do. She didn't try to bolt, no, instead she just tended to her suitcase. She turned it over. On the other side it said 'Telescope. Do not touch. That means you, you moron.'

"Shhhh….it's ok…mama's here. Mama's got you. It's all over now." Whispered Tome to her suitcase. She patted it and whispered to it like it was a wounded animal or someone she was trying to talk down from jumping off of the Seasoning City Unity Bridge. Reigen tapped her foot as this went on for another minute. People going about their business stopped and stared for a moment before returning to that business. Reigen kept on tapping her foot. The effect would have been better if she had been wearing real shoes. She was just in an old pair of flats. Tome had caught her at the end of the day. She hadn't shown up in her pajamas, of course, she had thrown on some jeans and a clean shirt even though it was long past the time in which Reigen had to dress like a functional human being.

It was way too late in the day for this.

Her phone vibrated. That was probably Serizawa. He had been showing her pictures of a model that he and Sho had built, well he had built it and Sho had 'supervised', whatever that meant. She wondered if Sho ever gave Serizawa these problems. That kid certainly looked like a handful.

And Reigen knew a lot about handfuls.

"Ok, I think that you've averted your telescope's mental breakdown. Now come on, let's get you home. Your parents are probably worried sick." Said Reigen. Tome shook her head.

"They aren't home right now. They're both working overnights this week so unless you want to wake them up early in the morning or stay up all night until they get off I guess you won't have any time to tell them. I mean, you're so busy after all-" said Tome

"Relax, I wasn't going to say a word to your parents." Said Reigen

"Really?" asked Tome, her eyes lighting up with hope. Reigen shrugged.

"Everybody gets one…and only one! Ok, this was your 'one'. If this happens again, well, I'm going to have no choice but to tell your parents." Said Reigen

"You Judas." Said Tome glaring at Reigen like she was trying, and failing, to spontaneously develop heat vision. Reigen shrugged.

"It would be for your own good, ok? Now come on. It's late and I'm going to assume that you haven't had any dinner yet, right?" asked Reigen. On cue Tome's stomach grumbled loudly. Tome glared down at her stomach and muttered at it for 'betraying' her. Reigen didn't say anything to that, she just motioned for Tome to follow her. Reigen didn't have any particular place in mind, well she knew what was good around here but she was not going to take Tome anywhere that was so close to the…mature…district.

Besides, all roads led to fast food anyway.

Fast food wasn't good food but Reigen wasn't after good food. She was after the kind of food that filed you up for cheap. Normally she would have gone for ramen but it was late and she had to get home at some point. Besides, it wasn't like Tome was complaining for anything like that. No, she ate her burger and fries with gusto that made even Reigen jealous. That was good. If there was one thing that Reigen couldn't stand it was seeing a kid go hungry.

Plus dinner was the most important meal of the day.

Dinner as the time of the day when people could really sit down and talk. It was important to talk about things that needed to be talked about. Like why one of her kids, not literally her kid but one she hung out with and had some responsibility for, had gotten herself arrested with some very serious charges. The kind that could ruin someone's adult life.

"Quick question." Said Reigen as casually as she could. Tome looked up from her food and raised and eyebrow.

"Ahm eedin'." Said Tome through a mouth full of food.

"Chew and swallow then." Said Reigen. Tome gave her a look but then did as she had been told. That gave Reigen some time to go over this in her mind, what she would say and how she would say it. She didn't want to sound like her mother. Reigen's or Tome's. Because lecturing and moralizing never worked on anyone, especially teenagers, and especially teenagers like Tome. She was a lot like a young Reigen…and that was not always a good thing. Tome could be very hard headed, headstrong, and nobody could ever make her do something that she didn't want to do, which was good…

But nobody could convince her that what she was doing was a bad idea, either.

"If you want to yell at me then go ahead and do. It doesn't matter so long as you don't tell my mom." Said Tome

"I'm not going to yell at you, we're in public and I don't really like yelling at people. I'm going to talk to you like a normal person." Said Reigen

"Why would you talk to me like a normal person? That's boring." Said Tome

"How would you have me talk to you then?" asked Reigen

"I don't know, talk to me like I'm Mob I guess." Said Tome with a shrug. Reigen nodded. That would make this a hell of a lot easier. Mob would have never gotten herself into this sort of predicament, though, so Reigen would have to suspend her disbelief for a little bit. Just a little bit.

"Like you're Mob?" asked Reigen

"Yeah, just like I'm Mob. Be all worried about me and give me wisdom and stuff like that, you know, like you do for Mob." Said Tome

"Ok. I'll talk to you like you're Mob…you dummy." Said Reigen. She called Mob a dummy plenty of times in her mind, not as much now as she had when Mob was a kid, but she didn't mean it in a mean way. She had never meant it in a mean way. She had always been amused when she thought it, like when Mob had tried to cut her own bangs or when she had tried to color her hair with lemon juice and baking soda.

This was not amusing.

Ok, it kind of was. This was the sort of thing that they would look back on and laugh, just like Reigen laughed at her own adolescent foibles. Yes, in ten years of so this was the kind of thing they'd laugh about over coffee or takoyaki or something.

"Hey! Who are you calling a dummy?!" said Tome slamming her hands down on the table and jumping to her feet. Reigen motioned for her to sit down as the people around them began to stare and whisper. Tome glared and sat down while muttering something about how if those people are at a MobRonald's this late at night then they had no right to judge anyone.

She had a point.

"You, you dummy. You're lucky you got off with just a warning, damn lucky. You could have gotten some beyond serious charges for what you did!" said Reigen

"I was just watching the sky!" said Tome

"From THAT love hotel? Really?" asked Reigen with a snort. Tome glared.

"What would you know about where I was? Huh? Unless you want to confess to going to shady places like that….but I know you wouldn't. What would Serizawa think? You'd be ruined if he-" said Tome. Reigen raised her hand in the universal gesture of 'shut up'.

"I'm an adult. Yes, I'm familiar with the adult district and not that it's anyone's business but my own but I haven't paid that area a visit in a while….and I am not ashamed about doing things that ADULTS do. You. Are. Fifteen. You're too young to even set foot in that area! And no, I'm not shaming you, I'm stating a fact. There isn't a single business on that street that allows anyone under the age of majority in." said Reigen being as diplomatic as possible. She wouldn't have yelled at Mob or shamed her, she would have stated the facts of the rules of the situation. Mob respected rules, she understood rules, and she felt good about rules.

Tome was not Mob.

"Well I feel like I'm being shamed. How can I not when you're telling me that it's wrong for me to-" said Tome

"I have no problem with you and your boyfriend having se-…expressing your feelings…in a physical manner. That's fine and normal and all of that. What I have a problem with is you and him doing…things of an adult nature…in public…and don't tell me that you both were watching the skies. I know what you can see from that roof…and how did you even get on that roof in the first place?" asked Reigen

"….the utility doors weren't locked…" muttered Tome

"Well then they should do something about that. Really…and you two should not have had the idea, even, to take advantage of that. OK? Trespassing is a serious crime just like everything else's you've done. I care about you and I don't want you to end up in prison one day, ok?" asked Reigen

"I could have talked my way out of that…I did talk my way out of that! I'm here, aren't I?" asked Tome. Reigen could have sworn that she was staring into some kind of Twilightzone-esque mirror into the past. Reigen wondered if the universe was preparing her for when she had a daughter just like her…as her mother had been happy to threaten her with…

'_Arataki, one day I hope that you have a daughter just like you! Then you'll see what I have to go through every single day with you!'_

Well Reigen was not going to go home and scream into a pillow before finishing off a bottle of wine and cursing the day that she had been born. She was going to listen, going to be nice, and going to try and see where Tome was coming from even though she'd rather climb up on that chair and preach about the dangers of doing things in public like that.

She had left her soapbox at home.

"You are. By the grace of God you are. Just…it's hard being your age." Said Reigen

"What would you know? You're an adult. You can do whatever you want. You probably don't even remember-" said Tome

"I remember. Believe me, as much as I would like to be able to delete the memory of that period of my life from my mind forever I can't. I remember what it's like to be your age and to be in love and to want to express it…but to not have a place. I get it." Said Reigen

"Sure you do." Said Tome crossing her arms and sullenly drinking her drink even though, based on the loud and rather annoying sound it made, and Reigen was going to pick her battles.

"Believe me, I do…though I never went to the roof of a love hotel. I'm probably still banned from the park, too." Said Reigen. A yes. There we go. Tome was smiling a little, a quirk at the corners of her lips, one that she was trying to suppress.

"The park? Really? Please, I've been over the park since second year." Said Tome

"Hey, necessity is the mother of invention." Said Reigen

"You're telling me." Said Tome

"Why was this even a necessity? I mean your parents aren't home-" said Reigen

"My neighbors are a bunch of snoops. They watch my house for my parents and tell my mom and dad if I have anyone over or even climb up on my own fucking-" said Tome

"Language." Said Reigen

"My own _freaking_ roof. I really was watching the stars. If I happen to point my telescope in the direction of the purple palace and SOME PEOPLE forget to close their curtains then it's not my fault if I see something that I wasn't meant to see. I mean if SOME PEOPLE are too dumb to close the curtains what am I supposed to do? Not look?" asked Tome. Reigen busied herself eating her fries while she waited for her heart to stop pounding. She thought, distantly, that maybe she should have been eating something with less sodium if she wanted to keep her heartrate down. She couldn't help but feel like she was being called out. That was her love hotel of choice….not that Tome had any reason to know that…unless she happened to be 'sky watching' while Reigen was doing what she used to do for fun on a Friday night…and other such crazy thoughts. There was no way that Tome could have kept that to herself if she had seen something that she wasn't meant to.

Right?

"Watch the stars, kid, not other people. Ok? Even if they left their curtains opened they still had the expectation that they wouldn't have a stranger with a telescope watching them doing….private things. Ok? How would you feel if someone was looking in on you with a telescope?" asked Reigen

"Let them. I have nothing to hide." Said Tome. Too fast, much too fast, and with an effort at being disaffected that didn't suit Tome. Reigen shook her head.

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter." Said Reigen

"A thief thinks everyone steals." Shot Tome. Reigen shrugged. Reigen didn't much want to start verbally sparring with Tome, she hadn't cleared her social calendar through to next summer.

"Can we at least agree that it's wrong to invade people's privacy without their consent?" said Reigen

"….fine…" said Tome

"Good. At least we got through that. Ok, no more spying and no more public indecency. I get it, it's hard when you're young and sometimes you feel desperate but…but don't commit crimes, ok? Trust me, it's not worth it when you get caught…..by someone other than me." Said Reigen

"You know from experience?" said Tome

"Yup. Hard as it is to believe I was once your age." Said Reigen

"So then if you're going to lecture me about this then you're a hypocrite." Said Tome

"Maybe, or maybe I'm trying to keep you from catching some serious charges when you get older. Ok?" said Reigen

"Yeah, I get it, don't go to prison. Well, Reigen, thank you so much for dinner but its late and I have to go home and get my six hours-" said Tome

"Don't forget, everybody gets one." said Reigen. Tome nodded. Good. She got it. Reigen chose to believe, then, that she had made a difference in the course of Tome's life. The last thing she needed was one of her kids in prison for something so avoidable. These weren't her kids, not really, but she was partially responsible for them. They were her kids in a way…and she did care about them….so she had to save them from themselves sometimes. Like these times…yup. That could have gone much worse.

And she handled this whole thing very well.


	36. Agony

This was pure agony, plain and simple.

Seeing her, there, was pure agony for him. The office was empty, closing time was upon them, and they were alone. All alone. Totally alone. The girls, none of the girls, had come in that afternoon. Miss Kageyama was spending time with her boyfriend, they were so adorable together, Miss Kurosaki was working with Miss Kageyama's little brother to try and get her grades up, she worked so hard, and Miss Kurata was in big trouble for…something. He'd asked Miss Reigen what had happened but she had just laughed and said that he didn't want to know. He hoped that it wasn't anything serious but he also knew to mind his own business.

He missed the girls, they were so sweet and adorable.

But he liked being alone with Miss Reigen, too. No kids, no clients, just him and her. Not that he was going to do anything with this newly found privacy, of course. No, it was much too soon and he knew that he would end up scaring her away. He didn't say a single word about what it was that he wanted, what it was that he was thinking, as he watched her. He wasn't staring, no, he was hunched over a school book pretending to be fascinated with all that he hadn't learned being trapped, isolated, in his room for all of those years. His eyes barely ever left the printed word, something about math, well at least he tried to keep his eyes in the world of differential equations and all of the other things that he'd have to study for his high school equivalency exam.

He would rather have been studying her.

She was leaning back in her chair, her suit coat was off, and she was just wearing this white shirt, it might have been called a blouse. It was thin, thin enough that he could see the outline of her…and he should not have been looking there but he could see it, the lacy outline of her bra, and he could see the mole on her left shoulder. And the other on just below her collar bone, and he knew that he should not have been staring but he couldn't help it-

But he had to help it.

So he focused on his book.

"What a day, what a day, what a day…." Said Reigen as she tilted her chair back and crossed her arms behind her head. She was tired, she wasn't feigning her exhaustion, but maybe she didn't absolutely have to take her suit coat off. It was cold in there, there was no sense in running the heat unless it was absolutely freezing, that was just good economic planning. Really. Besides, giving back rubs was hard work.

So that was why she had taken her suit coat off. Because she was overheating.

And as to why she hadn't been wearing a slip that day, well, she had just forgotten. That was all. She didn't really need one, not if she was wearing her suit coat, which she wasn't now but it wasn't like there were any clients around. Just her and Serizawa.

Just her and her boyfriend.

All alone. The kids had their own lives. Mob had a boyfriend, Rei was trying to get a boyfriend, and Tome was in trouble because, well, she couldn't keep her hands off of her boyfriend and her mother had, apparently, had enough of that. Reigen hadn't said a word as to what had happened, everybody got one, but her boyfriend's mother on the other hand held no such beliefs. So that was how she and Serizawa found themselves alone.

All alone.

Together.

She leaned further back in her chair. She was tired, true, but there was another reason she was sitting like this in a cold room in her thinnest white top. Not a good reason, no, not a good one at all. Well maybe it was. She was a grown woman. She liked to be desired. She wasn't' sure how healthy it was, wanting so badly to be desired, but she enjoyed it. Him, there, trying not to look like he was looking at her. God…she was like one of the kids, now, wasn't she? Sitting there dressed like…that…just to get a guy to notice her.

Her boyfriend.

It should have been different but it wasn't. Serizawa almost never looked at her, not blatantly anyway. Not in the way she wanted him to. They were like a couple of middle schoolers when they were together. All blushing and hand holding and stammering. Like this was all totally new and they had no idea what they were doing. Well he didn't…and neither did she. She hadn't done the girlfriend thing in so long, not since she had been younger, but not as young as the girls of course. University. Which may as well have been a lifetime ago. A different time in her life and a different her.

Or maybe she was just the same. Maybe she had just grown taller, not older.

She knew that she was a grown woman and she should have been able to be patient. This was new for him and she was not going to push him. She wasn't. She wasn't but she still…she knew that it was selfish but she still wanted to feel attractive. She still wanted to know that, yes, she was a grown woman and he thought of her as a grown woman…and not someone who he just wanted to hold hands. Nothing that she had anything against holding hands…

It was nice.

But there were other things besides holding hands that they could do.

Stop it, Arataki. This is about more than that.

"A-Are you ok?" asked Serizawa. He risked another glance at her. She had her arms folded behind her head and her hair was down. It was so long and so pretty and so soft looking…she herself was just so soft looking. In a good way….and he needed to stop looking at her, now, because she was looking at him and, for a moment, he felt like she knew exactly what it was that he was thinking. Thoughts that he should not have been thinking about his girlfriend. He needed to be respectful of her. He loved her and he needed to respect her and not think about….about all of the things that he had been thinking about.

"Just tired. I forgot how much work there is around here without the kids." Said Reigen with a sign. She ran her hands through her hair and let it fall down onto her shoulders. Because she had been keeping it tied up all day, of course, and it needed some times to just be loose or her roots would get weak. Yes, that was the only reason she had done that. Not to watch him turn, slightly, ever so slightly red.

"Um….do you-you want me to make you a cup of tea?" asked Serizawa, his face still buried in his book. Her hair was so long and so yellow, well yellow red, and it looked so soft and…and he wanted more than anything else in the world to touch it. To touch her. But that…he couldn't do that to her. He liked her a lot, maybe even lov-too soon. He had very strong feelings for her and the last thing that he ever wanted to do was to scare her off just because he couldn't stop thinking about her…like that….

"No, I'm ok. I just need to rest I suppose." Said Reigen with a sigh. A deep sigh. The kind of sigh that pushed her chest up wards, the kind that made it strain against her top. A thin thing, some kind of blend made to look like silk. Sheer. Not very sheer, she had much sheerer tops, but sheer enough that she should have been wearing a slip or an undershirt or something besides her laciest bra. White, of course, because she was trying to get noticed, not give him a heart attack.

"I-I could, though, I mean if you wanted me to." Said Serizawa. He wanted to get up and put his back to her. If his back was to her then, maybe, he could have gotten her out of his mind. But that would have been rude…very rube…because she was his girlfriend…and even if she hadn't been his girlfriend it would still have been very rude.

"How about I make you a cup of tea?" asked Reigen suddenly. She wanted to be more at his eye level. She knew that she should not have been thinking about him like that but this…she hadn't had this in a while. Being seen. Being wanted. Sometimes being wanted was the best thing, better even then everything that came afterwards.

"Huh?" asked Serizawa. That wouldn't make sense. He made her tea, that was how it went. Why would she make him a cup of tea? She was….because she was his girlfriend and a nice person and she had been thinking of him. Not in the way that he thought of her, of course, because that would have been crazy. He was…himself. She was perfection.

"You always make me tea, how about I return the favor?" asked Reigen getting up from her desk. She didn't bother to put her suit coat back on, laziness she told herself, it had nothing at all to do with the way she could feel his eyes on her. Of course he looked away when she caught him. She wondered why he was so shy about this sort of thing? Inexperience, probably. He was such a sweet man like that.

Sometimes she wished that he were just a little less sweet.

Not a jerk, of course, but just…sometimes she wished that he would just come out and ask her for what was clearly on his mind. She knew that he stared at her sometimes and she liked it but he wasn't picking up, at all, on the fact that she liked it. His attention. The way he looked at her. The things that he so obviously wanted to do with her. Of course everyone had those sorts of thoughts, those stray sorts of thoughts, and not everyone had to act on them. Sometimes you went shopping for something specific and sometimes you were just looking.

This was one of those 'just looking' times.

She may have walked a little more slowly than she needed to. She may have bent over a little more lowly than she needed to. She may have poured that tea kettle a little more slowly than was strictly necessary…and she may have, just maybe, put that cup of tea down a little too close to him on his desk…and maybe she had leaned over a bit too much…and maybe her claves were aching because she was going around walking slowly and bending over in her worst pair of work shoes and now she'd end up with joint problems in her late forties just liked her mother had.

Agony, pure agony, but not for that reason.

"T-Thank you." Said Serizawa. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. Drink the tea, obviously, and thank her and be polite and pretend that he hadn't been looking at her. The way her skirt was so tight around her hips, the way her shirt was kind of see-through, the way her hair had brushed up against him…he just had to pretend that everything was normal. She had put a cup of tea down on his desk and now he was supposed to drink it and pretend that everything was normal.

So he tried to pick up the tea cup.

And her hair brushed against him again and she hadn't fully let go of the cup so their hands brushed and that was a lot of touching and…and it was a lot…and he could see his aura, then, and he had made a lot of progress controlling his powers but he didn't have complete control and he didn't want to hurt her, no, not at all. Actually he was struck with the completely reckless, crazy, urge to kiss her…and he could have because she was still leaning over his desk and her lips were so red and she was so pretty and she even **smelled** good, like cigarettes and incense and her perfume and her perfume lingered, sometimes, when she leaned up against him and it was just the best when he found it on him, later on after he got home, and maybe it would linger on him again and her hand touched his and her fingers were so soft, her hand was so soft, and she was so soft and-

And now they were both covered in tea.

And then she laughed. For a moment he thought that she had cried out, that he had hurt her, even though the tea had been lukewarm since it was an old pot, but he'd had so many accidents with his powers before but now she was laughing and that actually hurt a little too and-

"Sorry, I'm sorry! It's just…I don't even know why I think that this is funny." Said Reigen. Maybe because this was all that she could do. Green tea on her white top. Well now she had a trip to the cleaners on her hands, now didn't she? And it served her right because, obviously, she had pushed him too far so, of course, she deserved this.

"You…you don't have to be sorry…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost control like that." Said Serizawa. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. They were both soaking wet, or mostly her, and even now he couldn't stop looking at her…and wasn't that just the worst?

"No, it's my fault. I knew what I was doing and I just…kept on doing it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't push you like that." Said Reigen softly. She had taken a step back and was standing, now, at a respectful distance from him. He was looking down, now, unable to meet her eyes…and she wasn't able to meet his, either.

"W-What? You…you weren't doing anything." Said Serizawa. He didn't get why she was so sorry. He was the one who had lost control.

"I was….I was just…I don't even know. Pushing your boundaries too hard I guess. I can just be so selfish sometimes-" said Reigen

"No!" said Serizawa getting up from his desk just a little, more than a little, too quickly. She seemed startled, of course she had been startled, he had even startled himself. He knew that it had been an overreaction but he just could not have had let her stand there and call herself selfish. She was the most selfless, one of the most selfless, people that he had ever met in his life.

"You're not selfish. You could never be selfish." Said Serizawa before he lost his nerve. He couldn't have had her just thinking sometimes to awful about herself. He crossed the distance between them. He had wanted to take her hand in his but now…well that had been what had started all of this. Touching her. Wanting to touch her. He had wanted to take her hand, he had done it before, but now he found himself unable to. His hand just sort of hung around near hers. Close, so close, but not close enough.

For either of them.

Reigen wanted to take his hand, she wanted him to take her hand, she wanted **something**. Anything. Even though she should have been happy with what they had.

"I am. I keep on pushing you…and thinking about pushing you…but I know that it's wrong. I know that this is all new for you and you don't need me putting all of my…all of this on you…and I should be able to wait-" said Reigen

"Wait? For what?" asked Serizawa totally and completely lost. He had no idea what it was that she would want to wait for. Probably not what he was thinking of. Of course not what he was thinking of. Of course she wasn't imagining him taking her in his arms, kissing her, running his hands through her hair, letting them fall lower, following her hair down to the small of her back, to her waist, where he'd rest his hands there and…and then maybe lower…

He pulled his hand away like it was on fire.

"For…for you. Serizawa….I can wait for you for as long as you need. We can even…we can ever go backward if you want." Said Reigen. Backwards to what she did not know. All she knew what that the thoughts running through her mind were nothing like what he must have been thinking. He did not want to take her face in both hands and kiss her deep and slow. He did not want to pick her up and sit her on his desk while his hands traced every single inch of her. He did not want to step in between her legs and kiss her deep and lay her across her desk and-

She thought, a crazy thought, that he had spontaneously developed telepathy. That would surely have explained why he pulled away from her so quickly.

"I-I really am not following. Backwards to what? I don't…I don't know what you mean. I mean I just…I'm bad at this. Talking. Communicating. I'm just not good at this sort of thing and I am so sorry about…I'm just not good at this." said Serizawa. Sometimes it was best, really, to come clean. Like now. Now seemed like the time and now she…she was looking at him like…like he didn't even know what.

"Backwards to…to whatever you want. This is about you, not me? I can wait for you for as long as you need me to. You don't have to apologize, I know how hard this all is for you…and how new it is…and I don't want to push you too fast…and you're not bad at it. Talking. Communicating. You really aren't. I'm the one who…is." Said Reigen softly.

"No. You aren't. You…you're so much better at this than I am…talking, I mean, I mean usually you are but I don't really know what you mean. I mean you…you seem so upset and I have no idea why…and I want to make you feel better but I have no idea…how." Said Serizawa softly. Her unhappiness won out over his…him-ness. He brushed her hair, the hair that had fallen onto her face, from her eyes. She had such pretty eyes and such a pretty face and it hurt him, then, to see her so upset.

"I'm upset because….I'm more embarrassed than upset. I sorry if I made you uncomfortable or pushed you too far…that's all that I mean by that. I care about you and there are…there are things that I want…and I know that there are things that you aren't ready for…and I don't want you to ever feel obligated to do something just because I want you to." Said Reigen

"I don't ever feel obligated to do anything when I'm with you. I'm with you because I want to be with you. That's all. And you don't make me feel uncomfortable or anything like that. If anything I make you feel…like that. I shouldn't have been looking at you like that and I'm sorry." Said Serizawa. He had brushed her hair behind her ear but his hand still lingered there. There was just something about it, about touching her, that he knew wasn't…but was also so…

Much.

It was a lot.

But in a good way.

"No…actually I liked that part…and I was maybe trying to get your attention…and I shouldn't have." Said Reigen

"Why not? If you want me to pay attention to you, you just have to ask me to…actually I feel like I pay too much attention to you…and sometimes I worry that I make you…uncomfortable." Said Serizawa

"You? You could never make me feel uncomfortable. You're my…you're my boyfriend, Serizawa, I want you to look at me like that." Said Reigen

"I don't…you don't think that…I mean I don't want you to think that I only think about you…like that. Because I don't! I mean I think about you like that but I also…I also care about you…and I know that if I really cared about you then my mind wouldn't always go to…that…when I'm near you." Said Serizawa

"Huh? You're human the same as everyone else and I am a pretty damned attractive person, in my not so humble opinion….I like it when you think about me like that…and I think about you like that a lot, too, even though I know that you don't need me pushing myself on you like that right now." Said Reigen

"You're not pushing yourself on me. You…I like you a lot and I respect you and it's not just about…about how I think about you. How badly I want to…to kiss you and to touch you and…and things that I shouldn't think about-" said Serizawa. Well now hadn't he made a mess of it. She was blushing, now, and so was he so he had embarrassed her and now she was probably about to take a step away from him and…

She took a step closer.

'I have no problem…none at all…with you wanting to kiss me and…yeah." Said Reigen. Now they were in some kind of bizarre blushing contest. She should not have been so nervous. The butterflies in her stomach were making her nauseous, now, but in a good way. She was a grown woman, she had done way more than kiss with more people than she could count but him just being so…so earnest…so earnest in his feelings and his fears…it was more intimate than anything she could ever recall doing in her entire life.

"You…you want to kiss me? But isn't it too…I mean I don't want to rush you…and it's really soon…and I don't want to scare you away and then you'll think that I only want…that…from you and-" said Serizawa

"I've been worried about the same god damned thing!" said Reigen with a laugh. She leaned forward until her head was resting against his chest and she just laughed. Her forehead was pressed right over his heart. He was so tall and…and close. She could smell his soap. It was nice. This was nice. This whole thing was just so nice…and maybe a lot of other words, too, but nice was the only word that had come to mind right then and there…

It was nice.

"But…why? Of course I would want to kiss you…you're my girlfriend. I've…I've actually wanted to kiss you since before we even…started this." said Serizawa. Her head was resting against his chest. He could smell her, the smell of incense and cigarettes and perfume wafted up from her and it was, and she was, intoxicating. This was…he hadn't had any idea that his heart was capable of beating that fast. He had no idea that a moment could feel so perfect, so very perfect, but it could and it did and this was just so wonderful…

It was wonderful.

"I've wanted to kiss you since the day we met." Said Reigen. If they were getting into a hopeless pining contest she, of course, would be the winner. She had searched her feelings time and time again and she had come to the conclusion that she knew, that she knew she wanted to be with him, from the moment he had stepped in front of the energy blast and saved her life. He had said, before, that he hadn't even been sure if he could have survived but he couldn't, also, just sit and watch while yet another person got hurt.

He had no way of knowing if he, himself, would survive but he had stepped in and saved her without a thought.

"Then…then can…can I? I mean can we?" asked Serizawa. He was shaking. This was agony. She was there and she was so close and she had just said that she had wanted to kiss him for so long and he had wanted to kiss her for so long, too, but he had never kissed a woman before and he was nervous and he knew that it would not have been what she had been expecting. He had no clue who she had been with before him and he didn't want to even begin to agonize over that but...but he must have done a much better job than Serizawa was about to do…if she said yes.

She didn't say anything.

She just looked up at him with her head tilted to the side and her eyes half lidded and her arms were around his shoulders, now, and his hands found her waist…that dip in her waist that he had always wanted to hold her by…and now he was and…and this was all just so perfect and…

And she was waiting for him…

So he kissed her.

And she kissed him back.

And it was agony…but in a good way.


	37. Sleepover 2

Sometimes there was nothing better than a quiet night at home.

A nice, hot shower, Korean drama on the TV, cold beer in hand, and a new face mask that promised three different kinds of moisturizing or your money back….life was good. So good. It had been a big day, another one without any of the kids, but Serizawa had been there so he was a big help. Work, walking home, a kiss that was somehow sweeter than anything else in the entire world…good times. It was a good time to be Reigen Arataki.

"This is the life." Said Reigen to herself as she laid down on her couch and just took in the night. Her hair was still kind of wet but she had the hater going so it was fine. She was so warm, so very warm. Warm fuzzy dog socks, warm bathrobe, warm night shirt, just so…warm. Like being in a cocoon of warmth. She pulled the couch blanket over herself for extra warmth.

Yes. This was good.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been if she had someone to share this warmth with. Well she did have someone…but he was busy. He had to go home and build some model that he had ordered a while ago. He offered to let her see it when it was assembled and painted. He probably meant that he was going to show her a picture or something. Yes, that was it, though her heart had skipped a beat when he said that…the thought of being invited over…

It was nice.

But maybe too soon.

She still didn't want to rush him. It was one thing to have romantic fantasies of kissing the guy under a storm of cherry blossoms or whatever, it was quite another to imagine him picking her up and sitting her on her desk before he-yeah. No. Kissing was one thing, and a lot, but all of the stuff that came afterwards was…more than a lot. God, she sounded like one of the kids. She had no reason to be so nervous, she knew what she was doing, and she knew that being in a relationship meant voicing her needs and all of that but…but if he wasn't ready and he was only going along with what she wanted-

He could decide for himself what he wanted.

And maybe he wanted to, too. Well of course he did, she knew what he was thinking about when he looked at her in that way, but wanting something and being ready for something were two different things. He might have thought that she wasn't ready. He had thought that she hadn't been ready to kiss, before, and they had waited for weeks and weeks in pure and utter agony. Maybe this was the same thing. Maybe they were just two adults too awkward to admit that they wanted to do what adults in a committed relationship did.

Maybe they were just a couple of awkward, horny, weirdos.

Speaking of awkward and horny weirdos her phone was ringing…and she knew that ringtone. Rei had gotten a hold of her phone one day and assigned everyone a ringtone based on their personality, interests, blood type, and star signs. Right now the Nyan Cat song was playing, something that Reigen was amazed that Rei even knew. Not Rei's ringtone of course, she was the theme to some show Reigen had never heard of. No, that was Mob's theme.

She tried to reach but couldn't. In the end she just got up and used her legs like a normal person. If she ever got psychic powers she hoped that it was telekinesis. Then she wouldn't ever have had to leave the warmth and perfection that had been her couch.

But, alas, she did not have telekinesis and Mob was calling and Mob almost never called so this must have been important.

"Don't hang up, I'm coming!" said Reigen as she fumbled to pick up her phone. She managed to get a hold of it just as the thirty seconds of ringing that the good people at Samsung allotted her ended. She sighed and called back.

It rang.

And it rang.

And then it went to voicemail.

Reigen waited for about a minute before she tried again. Mob almost never called her. It could have been nothing, she could have just gotten her hair tangled in her comb again, or it could have been another world ending catastrophe. Hopefully Mob just folded her comb up in her hair to see what would happen again. Or maybe she just needed someone to take care of her secret closet cats. Or maybe Tome had gotten stuck in or on top of something again. Or maybe some new supervillain was trying to take over the world and-

That was not going to happen again.

And she'd slap the shit out of anyone who thought that they could pull that crap, anyway, because she was not going through that again. None of them were. Especially not Mob. Not after what happened. Not after what Reigen had let happen. No, she needed to stop beating herself up over this. She had beaten herself up left, right, and center over what she had let happen…and it was not going happen again…and Mob was fine.

So she called again.

And again.

And again until she swore that she could hear Mob's ringtone…right outside her door…which was just plain weird. Mob knew where she lived but she had never just dropped in like this. This was probably something really bad…or maybe not. Maybe it was just nothing at all. Maybe Mob was just lonely or Reigen was just imagining things or-

A knock at the door.

"Master? Are you home? It's important…" Mob's voice, followed by a lot of pounding and kicking at the door. Reigen didn't think. She just rushed over and threw open her door, a million and one nightmarish scenarios rushing through her mind before her hand even touched the knob, and none of those scenarios could have prepared her for what she saw.

Mob, Rei, and Tome standing in front of her door in the middle of the night in their pajamas wreaking of…drink? Had they been drinking? Had MOB of all people been drinking?...judging by the way she was swaying and the rosiness of her face the answer was yes.

"Master….I'm going to throw up." Said Mob as Master Reigen opened the door. She was having a hard time standing. This had been a terrible idea. Why did she have to just….just go and do whatever everyone else was doing even though she knew that it was a bad idea? She knew that stealing from Rei's sister was wrong, she knew that drinking was wrong, and she knew that leaving the house in her pajamas and bothering Master Reigen in the middle of the night was wrong too. She was terrible! The worst! She was…she was making herself sick….

"She really is, I can tell." Said Rei as she braced herself against the doorway for support. This wasn't so bad. She knew that they would make it to Reigen's house and she knew that Reigen would let them in and take care of them. She knew that everything was going to be fine…well Riko would beat her up when she found out that her liquor was gone but that was what she got for being such a jerk and deleting all of Rei's shows from the DVR. Really it was all Riko's fault and she did not deserve the big sister beat down that was coming in….thirty eight hours, about.

"Y-You don't have to have future vision to see that. Mob…Mob you just gotta do it. It's like if you ever g-g-get abducted by aliens…just throw up on yourself and get it over with…then they won't dissect you…" said Tome. She sat down, she needed to sit down, the world was moving too much. She could feel it spinning. It had been hell getting to Reigen's house. Everything had been moving too much. It was like being aboard an alien ship, the centrifugal force was very disorienting to beings who were not used to it.

"Ok, Tome…" said Mob. She doubled over and was about to, it sounded like a good idea, when she felt herself being pulled. Hard. Oh, right, this was Master Reigen's house. She probably didn't want vomit all over everywhere….and she probably wanted Mob to take her shoes off in the genkan, too, because wearing shoes in the house was gross.

"Mob, just hurry up! I'd rather have shoe prints on my rug than vomit!" said Reigen as she led Mob to the bathroom. Mob was polite to a fault and that included taking off her shoes before vomiting all over the formerly white, now a pale shade of grey, rug. Reigen didn't mind the out of the blue company, or the fact that she was going to have to babysit said company because they were drink off their asses for possibly the first time, but she would mind having to scrub vomit out of the carpet in the middle of the night…or at ANY TIME!

She and Mob barely made it to the bathroom in time. Reigen held Mob's hair back, un braided and even curled in some places, as she was sicker than she had probably ever been in her life. Reigen didn't much mind, this was a right sight better than the nightmare scenarios that had been rushing through her mind before, and really this was normal for people their age.

It was touching, too, how they felt safe enough with her to come to her in their hour of need.

Mom, her mom, hadn't been someone Reigen could have gone to for the time of day let alone when she was drunk and sick for the first time. God, what a shit show that had been. She had been Mob's, no, Rei's age the first time she had gotten drunk. She stole a bottle of wine, drank it, and the next clear memory she had was being sick all over this guy she had been kissing but for the life of her could not remember the name of. Something with a 'T' sound at the beginning, it didn't matter now, what mattered was that she was going to be there to keep them from making stupid…STUPIDER….choices. Like making out with guys they barely knew…or guys they did know.

An upbeat pop sound filled the bathroom. Something about chocolate fondant being good…which it was certainly not. Not that Reigen was there to critique Mob's choices of songs of snacks. The bathroom began to shake, Mob's doing, and Reigen reached into her hoodie pocket…a hoodie that smelled of cologne for some reason…and pulled out her phone before she took the roof down over their heads.

"That's Te-RU!" said Mob as she threw up again. This was so gross! She almost missed that time and then if she had Master Reigen would have been so mad at her because there would have been throw up all over her bathroom rug and toilet cover and extra toilet paper and an almost new box of tampons, too, that she kept near her toilet and those were super expensive and Master Reigen would have been mad at her like Teru was probably mad at her for not picking up and-

"Hey, Mob, breathe. You're going to be ok. You can always call him back later, ok? If it's important you know he'll just leave a text or a voicemail, ok?" asked Reigen as she traced soothing circles on Mob's back. She thinks, for a moment, that she won't be able to handle this. Mob's control wasn't the best when she was sober…who knew what it would be like when she was drunk? But, no, she could handle this. No need to call Serizawa up in the middle of the night to help her babysit the kids. They'd be fine. Everything would be fine.

"He's going to be mad at me, I just know it." Said Mob after throwing up some clear stuff that tasted as bad as it smelled. There went dinner and desert and snacks…she was so wasteful! She shouldn't have agreed to this or she should have stopped her friends from doing this in the first place! She was a terrible friend! She was a terrible person! She was-

"Shh….shh….he won't be mad. It'll be ok, ok? Haystack…he likes you a lot and he won't be mad just because you didn't pick up the phone, ok? If a guy lo-likes you a lot then he understands that you aren't always going to be available." Said Reigen as Mob, hopefully, finished throwing up.

"He likes me a lot…he said so…but he barely even kisses me…and he never tries to touch me…and I don't know why….because I suck! I'm a terrible friend and girlfriend and I suck and-" said Mob

"Shhhh, no you don't. You don't suck at all, ok? You're a good friend and girlfriend and everything else. Ok? You're a good person, Mob." Said Reigen. Ok, Mob was a depressed drunk…that was something. Good to know for future reference. She wasn't about to go into Mob's relationship troubles, in Reigen's opinion they were too young for whatever it was, she had a good idea of what it was, that was on Mob's mind.

"I didn't….I didn't pick up the phone and…and I didn't stop Rei and Tome…and I bothered you in the middle of the night….and I left my shoes on in your house…and-" said Mob as she pulled her head out of the toilet and sat down on the bathroom rug. It tickled the backs of her thighs. Her nightgown was all ridden up. She should have fixed it. She shouldn't have been walking around in just her pajamas and Teru's hoodie to begin with…and she should have taken off her shoes.

"Here, let me get those unlaced for you. Just say still and let your stomach settle, ok? And stop worrying. It wasn't your job to stop them…ok? Everyone gets a little too drunk when they're drinking for the first time…and everyone, well most everyone, drinks for the first time when they're around your age. Ok? I'm not mad at you." Said Reigen as she unlaced Mob's shoes and pulled them off. She heard what sounded like someone moving furniture in the other room….and she would deal with that in a minute. Right now she needed to get Mob settled in. It seemed like she had the worst of it as she was the only one throwing up….

Yet.

Reigen hoped to God that Rei and Tome weren't reenacting that one scene from the Exorcist movie in her living room. It didn't sound like it, the scraping sound was gone and now she just heard some loud talking. It was hard to make out through the bathroom door. Something about alien abductions and people being replaced….that was Tome. Well it seemed that Tome was a talkative drunk. Something else that she hadn't known before.

"Master….don't leave me all alone…I don't want to be alone…I want to be friends with you." Said Mob as she clung to Master Reigen's bathrobe so hard it came opened. She had never seen Master Reigen in pajamas before…and she didn't know why seeing Master Reigen in pajamas made her think of Master Reigen leaving her forever…maybe because Master Reigen had her own life and she could leave at any time and they could go their separate ways like before and-

"We are friends, Mob, even if you are drunk off your ass in my bathroom right now. In fact, consider this a friendship level up. Remember, only a true friend will hold your hair back when you're drunk and get sick." Said Reigen. She knew that the responsible thing to do would have been to set Mob and the rest of them straight and tell their parents…but Reigen didn't much feel like being a hypocrite. Everybody got one…or in Tome's case, two, and that was how it was going to be. They didn't need to be preached to about the fact that they should not have been drinking underage and all of that, no, what they were going through right now and the hangovers they would have tomorrow would be punishment enough.

Well, for them at least. Reigen had taken all of that as a personal challenge when she had been their age.

"Friends forever?" asked Mob as she rested her head on Master Reigen's chest. She felt a hand in her hair moving up and down. It was nice even if it was messing up the curls that Rei had worked so hard to put in her hair.

"Yup. Friends forever, ok? I'm not going anywhere. Actually I can't, this is my apartment and I am not leaving a bunch of drunk middle schoolers all alone in it. I need to get that security deposit back." Said Reigen as she stood up and pulled Mob to her feet. She needed to be there to watch all of them, especially since now she was hearing loud talking that bordered on yelling…from Tome and Rei. She hoped that she wouldn't have to upgrade Tome from talkative drunk to angry drunk.

She didn't.

Tome was just doing some preaching of her own, loudly, and on Reigen's couch…which was halfway across the room for some reason. The tiny table had been propped up against the wall and the TV was on some muted gameshow with subtitles in...Chinese? Probably. Rei's work, most likely. Tome was more likely to build a fort than anything else. Rei…where was Rei?

Reigen heard someone talking, loudly, through her bedroom door.

"Which is, like, how can someone be so sure that they're all alone in the universe? If humans really are so special then why wouldn't aliens visit us? Like….think about it? I mean the universe is so big and we're so small…like then you have to really sit and think about it…and really think about the stuff that happens in our world that we can't even explain? Like the Star Child skull? Or the pyramids? Or-" said Tome. Reigen sat Mob down on the couch as best she could and dug around for the remote. She found it tangled up with her phone in the couch blanket. She sat Mob and Tome close together and put the blanket around them.

"It's warm." Said Mob softly as she closed her eyes and leaned down onto Tome. She was so warm and comfortable and safe…Master Reigen was there and they were not going to go their separate ways again and that…that was that. That was this and this was that and that was good so this was good.

"It feels like being in the womb…that's what they do…they s-s-simulate womb-like conditions to lull you into a false sense of security….that's what The Greys do….they do that to people…that's why some people think that memories of abductions are actually memoires of birth and pre life…but they're wrong. Backwards…it's all…" said Tome as she reached for the remote on the floor. Reigen picked up and went to one of her streaming things. She knew a show that Tome would like…and hopefully it would have Japanese subtitles since she had no idea how good Tome's English was.

It wasn't good.

But there were subtitles.

"Here, Ancient Aliens. You may thank me later." Said Reigen as Tome's eyes got a glazed over look. Mob's were closed. Reigen decided to upgrade her from depressed drunk to sleepy drunk. She wondered how much they'd even had to drink for Mob to be nodding off this early…or was it late? She had no idea how long they stayed up for at their sleepovers, and this had obviously been a sleepover gone wrong. Or right, depending on how one looked at it.

"Master…stay…no more separate ways…" said Mob as she laid there with her eyes closed and listen to a TV show narrating something in a language she barely understood. She didn't want to open her eyes. The world spun when her eyes were opened.

"Mob, you know that we're never going our separate ways again, ok? So come off it and try to get some rest, you're going to need it." Said Reigen

"Why?" asked Mob

"Because you're in for the worst hangover of your life tomorrow." Said Reigen with a smile. Mob smiled too, her own smile, since her eyes were still closed.

"But it's the only hangover of my life….I've never been drunk before." Said Mob

"The first is always the worst." Said Reigen running her fingers through Mob's hair. She heard heavy footsteps and loud talking coming from her room…she really ought to look into that. Rei was…she was either talking to someone or going mad…and most likely going through Reigen's stuff…and she kept her private stuff in there….but she was loathe to leave Mob, too. She was having the roughest go of it out of all of them. She was still a little nauseated, it seemed, and she was being really clingy too.

"Yeah…first times always suck." Said Tome with a yawn. She was only half listening, she had to remember how to read…and it was hard. Words went by so fast…maybe she should have worked harder in English class. This was really neat…the most neat…Reigen was so cool. Not that Tome would ever tell her that…but she was so cool…

"Do you think that's why-why Teru only wants to kiss me? Because he thinks that oth-other stuff would suck?" asked Mob as she got more comfortable laying down on Tome's side. She needed answers and wasn't afraid to find them. She knew that she should have been embarrassed but it was like the little Mob that was in her head and told her what was and was not ok to say had gone for a tea break…not that the little Mob in her head had always done the best job before all of this. She wondered if she could get a new little person in her head to tell her what was and was not ok to say and do. That would have been great…then she maybe could have been a little less clueless.

"Mob, don't-" said Reigen. She wanted to tell Mob not to get ahead of herself. This was one area where she was alright being just a little hypocritical. She wasn't going to tell Mob that what she wanted to do was wrong or anything like that but she was going to tell Mob to wait. She was too damned young for all of that. She wasn't an eleven year old in pigtails or anything but she was really damned young.

"He's just weird…really weird. Guys can be so weird and immature…maybe he's a pod person? Maybe they've replaced him and you're next." Said Tome

"No…no he's Teru…and he says that he likes me but he never tries to do anything more than kiss me…and I like to kiss him but I just get worried…worried like he doesn't really want to be with-with me because I'm not like the girls he's been with before and-" said Mob

"You're fine the way you are, Mob, ok? He cares about you and you care about him, I can tell, and caring about someone means that you…you take their feelings into account. You're fourteen, slow down on all of that until you're BOTH ready." Said Reigen. Sadly, there was no dispensing wisdom to the drunk and it seemed that what she said went in one ear and out the other.

"I look like I'm in elementary school….I still wear an undershirt." Said Mob, her eyes still closed. Maybe Teru had called her to break up with her and she would be alone for the rest of her life and nobody else would ever like her and she had been crazy to think that anyone would like her like that and-

"You have psychic powers, Mob, psychic powers are much better than big boobs." Said Tome shaking her head. She shook her head too hard and started to tip over. Thankfully something soft and fuzzy appeared under her head.

"Mob, come off it. You look fine. You look like you're fourteen, ok?" said Reigen as she quickly put her favorite couch pillow, the Dalmatian one, under Tome's head.

"Rei looks older than me." Said Mob

"Rei…Rei is her own person, ok? Just like you're your own person. Your life is your own and you live it the way you want to, not according to how other people live theirs…and that includes times like these." Said Reigen

"Like these?" asked Mob with a yawn and a stretch. She was tired, so tired, how could she have been this tired? She hadn't been this tired since the time she used up all of her energy saving the world.

"I know you, Mob, and I know that it was not your idea to get drunk off of…what were you guys even drinking?" asked Reigen. They didn't smell like beer, she knew what beer smelled like, they smelled like proper spirits. No wonder they had gotten so messed up. She wondered how irresponsible it would be of her to teach them to drink responsibly so that they wouldn't end up in these predicaments.

"Cans of highball." Said Mob softly. Reigen shook her head.

"How many?" asked Reigen

"I had two, Rei and Tome had one." said Mob

"Why did you have two?" asked Reigen

"They tasted good." Said Mob

"What…? You…you like the taste of highball?" asked Reigen. Mob nodded.

"I like the way it tastes and the way it makes me feel before I start to throw up." Said Mob

"Fair enough, I guess, but next time….not that I'm condoning a next time…stick to beer. Low alcohol content beer. You're going to end up less sick and less hung over…but don't go too hard on beer either. Not that I'm condoning any repeats of this." said Reigen

"Everybody gets one." said Tome

"Yeah, everybody gets one. Ok?" said Reigen

"But I get two." Said Tome. Reigen sighed.

"Fine, everybody gets two." Said Reigen

"Ok…I won't drink highballs again…but that's all Rei's sister had." Said Mob

"Rei's sister? What's she doing getting a bunch of middle schoolers drunk? A woman her age…I swear…" said Reigen wracking her brain trying to remember how many sisters Rei had and what, exactly, their ages were.

"That'll be ten yen!" shouted Tome before devolving into a laughing fit. Reigen rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I 'swore'. Go on, get it out of your system you little drunk." Said Reigen

"Rei's sister…well the sister that Rei stole the highballs from, is in high school. I think that she's sixteen now…and I feel bad that we stole. Well Rei stole. I didn't know that Rei was going to steal. One minute Rei was curling my hair and then her sister came in and said some mean things to her so Rei went to her room and stole a bag of highballs from under her bed and she said that we wouldn't get in trouble if we drank them and Tome said that it was a good idea-" said Mob

"And it was!" said Tome

"Tome still thinks that it was. I'm not sure. All I know is that stealing is wrong and drinking is wrong even though it makes you feel good-" said Mob

"Like all good things!" said Tome

"Yes, like all good things, and now I feel sick and I wish we hadn't even done this and I didn't want to but everyone else was so I had to. Like the time we smoked one of your cigarettes…and I'm very sorry about that too, Master, that was also wrong of us…we just keep on doing bad things. Maybe we're turning into bad people." Said Mob

"You're not bad people, you're just young and dumb, that's all." Said Reigen

"Hey! I resent that!" said Tome

"Well it's the truth. You're all young and dumb and that's why you did something this dumb, ok? Mob, just because everyone else is doing something, even if they're your friends, that doesn't mean that you have to do it too. It's alright to run away." Said Reigen

"I don't want to run away from my friends." Said Mob

"Fine, then it's alright to say that something isn't such a good idea." Said Reigen

"Nobody likes a killjoy." Said Tome sagely. Reigen sure did give just the worst advice sometimes. Thank God that Mob had someone like her to steer her right.

"Hey." Said Reigen. Tome had a point…by the laws of middle school it was true, nobody like a killjoy, but by the laws of responsible adulthood she had to set Mob straight before she ended up repeating some of Reigen's teenage foibles.

"That's true…Tome's right." Said Mob

"Mob…what if everyone else jumped off a cliff?" asked Reigen. Great, she was starting to sound like her mother. Well maybe mom had a point…oh God, it was a sign of the end times.

"Then I'd see why they did it. Maybe it's fun. Maybe the water at the bottom is deep enough so you won't get hurt." Said Mob

"….Mob, the point is that if something doesn't feel right to you then don't do it, ok? Be it drinking or cliff diving just…just don't be a lemming." Said Reigen

"What's a lemming?" asked Mob

"A stupid animal that jumps off a cliff for no reason." Said Tome

"Oh….but I didn't do this for no reason, I wanted to have fun with you guys and I didn't want to ruin the sleepover. That's a good reason, I think." Said Mob

"No just…Mob, think before you act, ok? Just because Rei and Tome think that something's a good idea, no offense, that doesn't automatically make it a good idea…ok?" said Reigen

"Ok." Said Mob as she laid fully down and put her feet up on Master Reigen. Her legs were cold. She wondered if there were any more blankets. The one she had used last time when she and Master Reigen had a sleepover had been nice.

"Yeah…Rei's full of bad ideas. For someone who can see the future she can be really dumb sometimes." Said Tome as Mob rested her head and body on her. Did she look like a pillow? If she hadn't been so very comfortable she would have given Mob a piece of her mind. This couch was so small…but this was pretty damn warm and comfortable…yes, she would allow this.

"Hey, be nice." Said Reigen. Middle school girls could be truly savage. How had Reigen forgotten this simple, immutable, law of the world? The sky was blue, water was wet, dogs were the greatest creatures known to mankind, and middle school girls killed their own.

"I'm telling the truth. She has bad ideas. Like right now." Said Tome

"What's she doing right now?" asked Reigen casting a fearful glance towards her now silent bedroom. She hoped, she really hoped, that the worst thing Rei had done was move some furniture around and get into her more expensive cosmetics. There were things in that room that were not for middle schooler's eyes. Things that, if seen, could not be unseen.

"She's in there confessing to Mob's little brother even though he's not into her at all." Said Tome

"Ritsu's…he's too little…and he doesn't even like girls…." said Mob

"No, I think he's just not into her. I mean, come on. She made the first move, the second move, the third move. At this point he's not even playing the game." Said Tome

"Lo-love isn't a-a game…" said Mob

"Well looks like I've got a fire to put out." Muttered Reigen as she got up. Time to save Rei from unparalleled embarrassment. Not that Reigen was going to tell Rei why, exactly, Mob's little brother was not into her. No, that had been told to her in confidence and it was not her business to go around telling people anyway.

"Don't go…" said Mob as she felt the warmth of Master Reigen disappearing. Reigen patted her leg as she stood up. She had been so warm and comfortable…but she needed to save Rei from herself. There was time to be warm and comfortable later. Right now she was needed.

"I'll be right back, ok?" said Reigen as she got up. She crossed the room and opened her bedroom door slowly as not to startle Rei. Drunk teenagers were unpredictable teenagers…but more so than usual.

"I knew you would come in…uh-huh…that's Reigen, we're at her house now, but I told you that already." Said Rei as she laid down on Reigen's bed. How had she not been to Reigen's house before!? She had so much cool stuff! Especially the nighty she had borrowed. Mom would have never let her wearing anything sheer and low cut like this. Well, she wasn't wearing it properly, she was wearing it over her clothes…she looked into the future. Nope. Mom would still say no…and there was no way that Reigen would ever let her borrow this…but maybe she could change her fate…

Like right now.

She was going to change her fate. Fate said, the future said, that she and Ritsu were not going to end up getting together. Well she was not a slave to the future! She made her own future! Her life was her own, like Reigen was always saying, and she was going to be the protagonist of her own life and she was going to…to turn her life into a shoujo manga and get the guy of her dreams!

"Rei, how about you get off the phone and come back to the sleepover, huh? Come on, everyone's watching TV. You like TV, right?" asked Reigen holding out her hand. Rei had been in her closet and dresser drawers, she was too young to be wearing that nighty…and Reigen had even forgotten that she had that tacky old thing…..and she had gotten into Reigen's makeup, too, and had gone to town…but at least her bedside drawers were still closed. God only knew how this lot would react to the horrors that could be found within.

"In a minute…uh huh….that was Reigen…I'll go in a minute…I'd rather talk to you…because I like you, dummy, like I said…" said Rei. Reigen shook her head and attempted to snatch the phone out of Rei's hands before she did any more damage. Rei, by virtue of being the best clairvoyant ever, dodged out of the way before Reigen even made contact. There was no stopping her now. She was going to challenge fate and she was going to finally make Ritsu hers! She would not be stopped! Not when she wanted to be with him this badly! And not just because she really wanted to kiss him and stuff, no, because he was smart and awesome and saved her life and also he smelled really good, too. She wondered if she could borrow more of his clothes…of course she could! She was his girlfriend, well she would be his girlfriend, and girlfriends could borrow their boyfriend's clothes whenever they wanted! No more stealing, borrowing without asking, she could just ask and she could wear all of his hoodies and shirts and pants and socks and shoes and-

"Rei, maybe this isn't the best time to be talking about all of this." said Reigen. She could not just come out and tell Rei that she was drunk, very drunk, and that being drunk wasn't the best time to be making heartfelt love confessions. Mob's little brother was on the other side of that call and Reigen had no idea if he was good at keeping things to himself and Mob would have never forgiven her if she told her mother on her…like a responsible adult was supposed to…and it wouldn't have been fair, anyway, for her to tell a kid that young to keep a secret this big.

"In a minute…yeah, that's still Reigen…no you dummy, I want to talk to you….because I like you…no, I mean I like-like you…hang on." Said Rei as she sat up and glared at Reigen.

"Excuse me! I am in the middle of a very important, life changing, phone call and I would appreciate not being interrupted." Said Rei glaring as best as she could. Reigen put her hands up in the universal gesture of 'you win'.

"First of all this is my room, second of all this is my house, and third of all I am trying to save you from embarrassing yourself….but if this is the way you want to be then fine." Said Reigen. She'd tried, that was what mattered. Rei was apparently the angry drunk out of the three of them. Who would have guessed? Well then. Rei would just have to learn from her drunken mistakes the same way that everyone else did.

"Good. Ok, I'm back. No, I mean I like-like you like I want to be your girlfriend…yeah, like that….because I like you a lot…because you're smart and brave and cute and stuff…because I just do…because I really wanna make out with you..." said Rei. Reigen shook her head. Was this what it felt like to watch the Hindenberg go down?

Oh the humanity.

Rei's face was falling fast. Reigen had no idea what was happening on the other end of that call but she could make a few educated guesses based on what she knew.

"Oh. Ok. I'm sorry to have disturbed you and I hope that you have a wonderful evening….goodbye….no, I won't be coming over for help with my homework on Monday….you're a really good teacher!" said Rei before she tossed her phone across the room. Reigen caught it and ended the call. The last thing she heard were some frantic apologies from Mob's little brother. Reigen sighed as Rei began to roll around on her bed, kick, and scream.

"He has a boyfriend! He has a BOYFRIEND! How does he have a boyfriend!? Why!? Why is this happening to me!? Me!? What did I do that was so wrong!?" said Rei as she kicked so hard the bed started to squeak. She felt a hand on her head and stopped kicking for a moment.

"You know I have to sleep there, right? Do I go over to your house and break your bed?" asked Reigen as she reassured Rei with one hand and texted her whereabouts to her no doubt worried mother with the other. She went to the home screen…which was a surreptitiously taken picture of Mob's little brother…and then clicked Rei's phone off.

"I don't care! Leave me to my pain and suffering! Just leave me alone! Leave me alone to die!" said Rei

"You're seriously getting this worked up over a guy?" asked Reigen. She had forgotten how dramatic things were when you were thirteen. Reigen had been rejected so many times it hardly even phased her…though she rarely went after guys she truly cared about…and she was over twice Rei's age. Of course Rei was worked up, this was probably the first time that she had ever been this into someone.

Poor kid.

"Yes I am! He was…he was so perfect! He was smart and cute and he cared about me! He cared about me enough to save my life, twice! The first time was when we got kidnaped and the second time was when we fought that crazy guy…and he hadn't been scared even for one minute…and he kept me safe…and-" said Rei

"Ok, you and I remember both of those times very differently." Said Reigen

"What do you mean? I remember exactly what happened! Ritsu saved me-" said Rei

"You all saved each other, ok? And if you want to talk about the second time you guys risked your lives, against my advice by the way, you're the one who used your powers to lead us out of the city while Mob and that Suzuki guy were fighting like it was the end of the world." Said Reigen

"But he still-" said Rei

"Rei, I know you cared about him a lot…and I know that you and him went through some messed up stuff together….but that's no reason to…ok, not dismissing. Not dismissing at all." Said Reigen. Once again she had been sounding just like her mother. That was what mom had always done when she got her heart broken, just told her to suck it up and provided her with a helpful list of all the reasons why she was wrong to feel the way she felt.

Reigen knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of that.

"What?" asked Rei

"You…it hurts. You're going through something hard, very hard, for the first time and it hurts." Said Reigen softly. She scooted closer to Rei. Rei made some room and sat up straighter…well she had for a moment before she decided to grab a pillow and hold it close. At least this soft pillow would never hurt her.

"I feels like my heart got ripped out." Said Rei as she buried her face in this pillow that looked like a dog and smelled like a bottle of perfume had a baby with a pack of cigarettes….Reigen really needed to smoke less or she'd be dead and then another person would have ripped Rei's heart out. That was what this felt like, like someone died, even though she knew that nobody had. Her stomach hurt and her heart hurt and she just wanted to be put in the ground already.

"Yeah…it'll feel like that for a while. It hurts and it's going to hurt but you're going to be ok. I know that it doesn't feel like it now but one day this will all be memory. A pretty hazy one, too, judging by how drunk you all are." Said Reigen

"No, I'm going to remember this. I can see the future, I know that I'm going to remember this. I'm going to listen to the future from now on. I tried to change my fate and all that got me was…this." said Rei

"You'll be ok, trust me on this. Right now it feels like he's the only guy in the world, am I right?" asked Reigen

"Yeah…" said Rei. She wondered if Reigen could secretly read minds…it would have made sense. More sense than anything else that was happening right then.

"And you feel like you're less than dirt right now and you wonder if anyone'll ever want to be with you." Said Reigen

"I do….I feel like that…" said Rei

"And it's ok to feel like that. It's normal. Rejection hurts, embarrassment sucks, and it's all taken up to eleven when you're drunk but remember…this is going to pass, ok? It's going to pass." Said Reigen

"When? It feels like it's going to last forever! I mean, how could I not know that he had a boyfriend? That he liked boys, not girls? I mean I should have…not that I've ever met anyone before who-" said Rei

"You probably have and just don't know it. It's not exactly the kind of thing that you can just go around asking about, ok? And it's not the kind of information that most people go around volunteering, either. You couldn't have known this about Mob's little brother unless you had asked and I know that you're not so clueless that you would go around asking people personal questions like that out of the blue." Said Reigen

"I still feel like I should have been able to put two and two together I mean…he never tried to kiss me or hold my hand or anything….and he never tried to look down my shirt like guys always do-" said Rei

"Which they should not be doing." Said Reigen

"I know that they shouldn't do that but sometimes…I like to feel like…like people like me-" said Rei

"Rei, no, just because a guy looks down your shirt it doesn't mean that he likes you. He just likes what he sees, that's all, and you…you shouldn't get the two confused. Believe me, it sucks when you get the two confused." Said Reigen

"I mean I know that guys who look at me like that aren't in love with me or anything but…I guess it's nice to be looked at…I guess…and he never looked at me anyway…and now I know why." said Rei

"You're going to be ok-" said Reigen praying that Rei wasn't about to break down in tears. Well if she did then Reigen would be there for her like she would have been there for Tome or Mob….she hoped that Tome and Mob weren't going to start having these problems, too.

"I mean I should have figured it out. I mean he always hangs out with Sho, and he always talks about Sho, and Mob said that Sho practically moved into their house…" said Rei

"Sho? I had no idea." Said Reigen trying to sound as convincing as possible. Thank God that drunk thirteen year olds didn't have the best lie detector skills. She did not want to get into the fact that she had known about this for some time now. She stood by the fact that it was not her business to go telling around town about. It hadn't been Serizawa's, either, but that was neither here nor there. It was what it was and what it was wasn't anybody's business but Mob's little brother's and his boyfriend's.

"I didn't either…and I can't believe that I humiliated myself like that…" said Rei. She was never, ever, ever drinking again. They were right a school, drinking did kill brain cells and make you do the stupidest things. So did love. So being in love and drunk at the same time had made her the stupidest person on the entire planet…and she had acted the part.

"Well I did try to warn you-" said Reigen. This earned her a pillow tossed in her face, which was totally fair, though she stood by what she had said. She had done her part in trying to warn Rei. She'd done her best and her best was all that she could do.

"You should have tried harder!" said Rei

"Ok, you're right. Next time you get drunk and I catch you doing something ill-advised I'll kick the phone out of your hand. How about that?" asked Reigen. Rei smiled, just a little, but that was enough to know that they had passed the worst of it…for now. The formula was that for however long she was into him that would be how long it would take to get over him.

So Reigen was in for a few months of this at least.

"Whatever it takes. I never want to do anything that dumb again." said Rei. She felt…better. Reigen really was good at helping people…and that was good. When Rei grew up she wanted to be just like Reigen…minus the smoking, of course.

"Don't worry, I won't let you, now come on and watch some TV with the others." Said Reigen. Rei got up and Reigen pulled the blanket off the couch to cover all of them. The couch blanket wasn't big enough for everyone. The couch its self was barely big enough for everyone.

But they all fit.

Including Reigen. Mob wouldn't let her get away so the only thing to do was sit down and watch bad TV with everyone else. It was warm, nice and warm, and she was comfortable. This was the life. Warm fuzzy dog socks, warm bathrobe, warm night shirt, just so…warm. Like being in a cocoon of warmth. The only thing that could have made this better would have been if she'd had someone to share this with.

She did.

And it just didn't get any better than that.


	38. Netflix and ChillNot Like That!

Serizawa hoped that this date went well.

Chips? Check.

Popcorn? Check.

Soda pop? Check.

Dusting? Check.

Sweeping? Check.

Laundry? Check.

Clean couch blanket? Check.

Several movies about dogs in the que? Check.

Several episodes of the original run of the Junk Food Fighter? Check.

Rescue hamsters cleaned, watered, and fed to Sho's specifications? Check.

Emergency numbers stuck to kitchen fridge in case he had a heart attack and died? Check.

This date was going to go well.

She was coming over to watch a movie…which he knew just meant watching a movie. They went out together after work a lot and those dates had been nice but they had never been to either of their apartments. Well he had walked her home a couple of times but he had no idea what her apartment looked like past the genkan. Sho offered to go look in her windows and report back his findings but Serizawa that nothing about that idea was good. If she wanted him to know what the inside of her apartment looked like then she would have invited him in herself.

She hadn't.

Though she had, last time they'd been out together, said that she'd be interested in seeing some of his models after he showed her pictures. That had turned into them hanging out and watching a movie. Well she said that they could do whatever he wanted and he said…well he had to think of what they could do together after they looked at his models because as numerous as they were it wouldn't take that long to see them all…and he wanted to spend a lot of time with her…

Movies took up a lot of time.

And everyone loved movies! Well maybe not the blind…or maybe they did. He'd ask Shimazaki. He liked listening to the TV while he fell asleep…but also he could see. Maybe, actually, he shouldn't ask Shimazaki that. That might have been a bad question to ask. He didn't know. Maybe he should ask Miss Reigen when she came over. She was good at talking and things.

Or maybe not. He didn't want to turn the first time she ever came over into a social skills lesson.

He didn't know what he wanted it to turn into but an impromptu social skills lesson was something that he was not interested in. He knew that…he knew that he wanted to hold her. He wanted to cuddle and hold her and kiss her and all of that. He also knew that he wanted…well he knew what he wanted but he would wait for her to initiate. It was one thing to…he knew that his communication skills weren't the bets but he didn't want to put any pressure on her. This was still so new…he didn't want to ruin things with her. She was so…everything.

And he did not want to lose her.

He checked, double checked, and triple checked again. The apartment was clean, he had plenty of snacks, he didn't stink, his clothes were clean, and Sho knew not to come popping around tonight. Not that he didn't like hanging out with Sho, he did, he just didn't want Sho to come around when he was on a date, that was all, and he was sure that Sho felt the same way now that he was in a relationship. Wow. Sho had a boyfriend. Now Serizawa knew what people meant when they said 'they grow up so fast'.

Serizawa wondered if the same applied to him.

A year ago he had been trailing after the President. He had given Suzuki his love and devotion…and his life…and that had gotten him nowhere. Well it had gotten him to her. A year ago he…he had been so sure that he loved Suzuki…that he'd die without him…and now here he was in his own apartment with his girlfriend about to come over and he was going to have a regular movie date with her and…and this was everything that he ever wanted.

He felt…he knew how he felt.

And it was scary. He felt the word, the shape of it, on his tongue. Love. He loved her…and he knew that it was too soon for all of that. He still had so much of his own baggage to unpack when it came to that. He couldn't just go throwing that word around until he was totally sure. He knew that he cared about her, that he wanted to spend time with her, and that he would do anything for her. That was more than enough for now. She was more than enough for now.

She was more than enough for him.

Reigen knew that she wasn't enough for him.

She had been nothing but a neurotic mess all day and he deserved so much better.

This had been a bad idea. She had just been rambling like a drunken parrot the other day, that was all, she had no idea that her words would lead to…this. She had been telling him about the kids and their impromptu sleepover and it somehow turned to the subject of how they had no idea what the other person's apartment looked like and how she was sure that his apartment was full of all sorts of cool models and she really wanted to see them…not a lie at all…and now she was heading over to his house in the middle of the evening for a movie date.

She had been on plenty of those.

Hell, she had been the one to explain to Mob what Netflix and chill meant…and why she should never use that phrase when describing the movie dates that she and Haystack went on…ones that Reigen could have lived a long, long, long life without knowing about. She hoped to God that Mob's movie dates were rated G. Nothing 18+ or even 15+ yet. No. Nope. Mob was too young and Reigen was not old enough for Mob to be going off and doing…stuff like that.

Adult stuff.

Stuff that Mob was not ready. If Reigen wasn't ready then Mob wasn't ready…well the thing was that Reigen was ready…so a better comparison would have been…but this was not the time to be making weird standards up. Nor was it the tome to be speculating on Mob's love life. Nope. That was Mob and Haystack's business and theirs alone. Reigen was not stalling for time by speculating to herself the details of Mob's relationship with the boy of her dreams. Nope.

She could leave the house at any time.

She totally could. She had her comfy shoes on, she was standing in the genkan, and her bag and keys were in her hands. Just her normal bag, not her emergency overnight bag complete with mini toothpaste, deodorant, and a change of clothes. She knew that she wouldn't be needing that bag. She and Serizawa wouldn't do anything more than they already had. They had kissed, and they kissed regularly, and Reigen was grateful for what she had and who she had it with. Really, she was. They kissed and that was enough.

Even though a kiss could last for more than five seconds.

And it could involve more than pressing their lips together like a couple of nervous kids.

And also he could touch her somewhere besides her hands, hair, or waist if he was feeling adventurous.

She would never push him to do anything, though. He had his limits and if he wanted more than what they were doing….she knew that she was shitty at this sort of thing. This sort of heavy duty communication. She knew that they had a talk about this, about voicing their needs, but these needs…she was having trouble voicing these needs for the first time in her life. She knew what she wanted, she knew that it wasn't wrong for her to want what she wanted, but she also knew that she didn't want to put any pressure on him. Intimacy, the kind she wanted, was tricky at the best of times. The two of them had so many issues that their issues had issues. She did not want to make it any worse.

She was not going to ruin their relationship because she really wanted to make love to him.

That would have been selfish, pushing him towards something that he wasn't one hundred percent ready for. She had needs, she was a grown woman after all, and she could deal with them on her own. He was her boyfriend. She loved-she cared about him a lot. This was about more than sex. He was more to her than a warm toy. He was a person with feelings, a lot of them, and he did not need her pushing the complicated intimacy that sex brought onto him.

She could divorce her feelings from the act of it.

But she didn't want to, not with him…and that was kind of scary. As scary as it was for her it must have been even worse for him. He was a virgin. She hadn't been a virgin since middle school but she remembered all of the messy, complicated, and ultimately painful feelings that came from her first time. She did not want to make him feel the way she had felt.

It wouldn't be the same.

She wasn't going to pretend that she didn't even know him, afterwards. She wasn't going to hurt him like that…or in any way. She…she had a lot of very strong and very complicated feelings towards him and she knew that she would never do anything that had even a chance of hurting him. He was…he was someone she cared about so much…more than she had ever cared about a guy before. She wanted…she wanted a lot with him…a lot that she knew not to ask of him…yet…

But it would all be a moot point if she didn't get her ass out the door already!

Serizawa knew that he needed to stop watching the door.

He had started playing a game to calm his nerves. Super Bomber Man. Usually it calmed him down…but not now. Now he just could not stop staring at the door and…and yeah, he could not stop staring. If she had been an esper then he could have sensed her...but he knew that she was coming. She would come at the agreed upon time. She was his girlfriend and she had no reason to just ditch him like that. Unless she changed her mind…

If she changed her mind he would have understood.

He would have been hurt but he would have totally understood. She had other things to do with her time than come to his tiny apartment to look at the models he'd spent way too much time painting and then sit on his tiny couch and watch a movie with him and let him hold her close and maybe even kiss her…she had other stuff to do. Probably more important stuff. She led a very busy life and he didn't and even now he had nothing better to do than play-

This was negative self-talk and he needed to stop.

He needed to do like his therapist said and not put himself down. He needed to bring himself up. He had a girlfriend and she wanted to be with him. She was the sort of person who spoke her mind always so if she didn't want to come over or to be with him at all then she would have said something to him. He had to stay positive and not put himself in a negative headspace because then this night really would end up being awful.

He had no reason to feel like this.

A knock at his door.

He really had no reason to feel like this.

Reigen knew that she had no reason to feel like this.

So nervous, so incredibly nervous. She was being dumb. Nothing was going to happen. Nothing like what she was thinking, anyway. Nothing like what she was hoping. She was just going to come over, spend some time with him, and then head back to her own bed in her own apartment. Simple. Very simple. Nothing at all like what she was thinking. Nothing at all like what she wanted…and tried to stop wanting this. This was not like kissing him. This was…she had no idea if he wanted to do anything and she was not going to put pressure on him. None at all. He was…he was someone she cared about and she was not going to mess this up.

No matter how badly she wanted to.

And yes, she wanted to.

"M-Miss Reigen! You're here! I mean I knew that you'd be coming over around this time, I don't know what I'm so surprised about…not that I thought that you wouldn't come or anything like that. I mean if you wanted to just stay home or go out and do something else then I would have understood…not that I expected you to…" he was so cute when he was nervous. Well he was cute all the time but he was especially cute when he was nervous. It was endearing, so endearing, so endearing that she just wanted to lean up on her tiptoes and kiss him-

Hey, she could do that now!

So she did. She leaned up and gave him her best rated G for general audiences peck. The kind that left only lipstick, and even then not a lot of it. The kind that made him blush and made her blush and if they had been anime characters they would have had those blush stickers and it would have been cute but Reigen knew that she just looked flushed. It wasn't a good look on her, she knew that, and she wished that she had worn more makeup. She didn't know why she wanted to hide behind layers of cream and powder and highlighter and concealer and blush and bronzer, it was just Serizawa, but she kind of wished that she had. She hadn't, though, because it was best not to wear heavy makeup on these sorts of dates.

Not that this would be 'that' sort of date.

"C-Come in!" said Serizawa. Wow…that had been so…wow! He would never get tired of kissing her. It had been nice, so nice, and he kind of wanted to do it again and again and again…but that was not what his was about! It was one thing to kiss her, that was just…well it was a lot of things…but to ask her to do any of the stuff on his mind, well, she would be fully justified in running away screaming.

Also it wasn't polite to make her lurk in doorways.

So he invited her in. He moved out of the way and…was she shorter? Oh no, she was normal sized. The answer came to him when she stepped into the genkan. She usually wore high heeled shoes even though they looked kind of difficult to walk in. She was good at it, though, walking and even running in them, so good at it that he hardly even noticed that she wore them….and she hadn't been, then. Her shoes were a lot shorter and that made her a lot shorter…and it was kind of cute. Seeing her like this. She had her hair down and she was kind of red…oh! She had freckles! They were so…she was so cute. Pretty. Beautiful. Captivating. He would have thought of more synonyms but he didn't have a thesaurus.

He didn't even think that there were words for how he felt about her right then.

Reigen didn't think that there were words for what she felt about him right then.

"Wow, so this is where you live! It's nice, really nice! I can't believe you built all of those models…I mean I totally can but it's like…wow! You're entire wall is covered in…I can't even recognize most of these…not that it's a bad thing! I haven't really kept up with stuff, not since I was a kid…not that I'm calling you childish! I mean, I just mean, that this is really cool. This whole thing is really cool. Can I see them? Oh, can I touch them? No, wait, that was a dumb question. I don't want to fuck-mess! Mess them up. They look like they took a lot of work! More than I could have put in…too much self-depreciation is unattractive, Arataki…um…hey! My shoes are facing the wrong way. I'll just…God I am so rude…" Reigen knew that, at this point, she was just saying words. She was pacing around and talking and he was just watching her and she was embarrassing herself and she knew that she should have just shut up but she…she could not. She might have said the wrong thing if she took a pause. Like how he managed to look good in anything, even just slacks and a button down. Like how she had forgotten how tall he was, or maybe she had just forgotten how short she was in proportion to him…or how his hair looked nice when it was a little longer but not long enough to stick up on it's own…and how badly she wanted to reach up and-

Reigen was, as the kids said, thirsty as fuck.

It was a combination of how she felt about him, how effortlessly attractive he was, and how long it had been for her…how long it had been since she had been with another person. She hadn't had a dry spell this long since before university…and that was a terrible reason to act like this, to want to…to even consider putting pressure of any kind on him. Nope. This went at his pace.

"O-oh! Here, let me!" said Serizawa. She had been pacing around his apartment looking at everything…and he had no idea that all of this was so fascinating to her. He was glad. He was so glad that she wasn't bored even though it was kind of…overwhelming…just a little. He was glad that she gave him something to do, even if it was as simple as making sure her shoes faced the right way. He just needed a moment to ground himself, that was all.

"T-Thanks." Said Reigen. He used his powers to face her shoes the right way. She forgot how to breathe. That was….that was so sweet of him. It was sweet of him to think of her like that and it was…cool…to see him use his powers like that. If that was even the right word for it. She had seen him use his powers a thousand times, maybe even more, but there was just something about the way he had been…he had been thinking of her and listening to her and…and it felt nice.

This whole thing felt so nice.

There were other words to use, of course, besides nice but nice as the word that fit the situation the best. He was a nice guy. This was a nice place. This was going to be a nice night. She wasn't going to mess this night up. She said that she wanted to hang out and see all of his models and that was what she was going to do. Nothing more. She wasn't even dressed for the occasion. Not this occasion, her clothes were fine for this occasion, at least she thought that they were. She had no idea if-

She was being too self-conscious.

Serizawa knew that he was being too self-conscious.

He stuttered and stumbled as he explained all of his models to her. He couldn't help it. It was a combination of how he felt about her and how he felt about himself. He knew that he could be very childish. Hell, his best friend besides her was a thirteen year old boy. She was so much more mature than he was…and she could have gotten someone so much more mature than him. He knew that this was just more negative self talk. She liked him. She was in his apartment because she liked him. If she wanted to be with someone else then she would have been with someone else. Logically he knew that she was her own person, her life was her own, and if she didn't want to be with him because he was awkward or immature or whatever then she could have just walked right out that door. He knew that she wanted to be with him…but why?

More negative self talk.

He should have been happy. She was in his home for the first time and he knew that this should have been a happy occasion but all he could think about was all of the things that he was doing wrong. He was boring her. He was showing her how immature he was. He wasn't enough for her. Now that she'd seen the way he lived and the things he liked she'd think to herself that she could do so much better…

It wasn't easy.

But she seemed interested. She asked a lot of questions and talked a lot, which meant that she must have been enjoying herself since she really liked to talk, and that must have been good. She listened and never once said anything about his stuttering and backtracking and how he'd just sometimes catch sight of her and how beautiful she was and just completely lose his train of thought. That was good. She was just so good to him…and he liked her so much…and he hoped that this was going well. It was hard to reconcile the worries in his mind from what was really happening.

She was enjoying herself. That was what was happening.

Reigen wondered if he was actually enjoying himself.

She talked too much when she was nervous. She never let him have a word in edgewise and while she was trying to change that change was slow going. Mainly because she need to fill up the atmosphere before it got awkward. She was gushing at him and she knew it. She had seen pictures of his models after he'd built them but she had no idea that he had so many….and how much work went into them. The detailing on some of these was so intricate…and he had done it all by hand. He was amazing. Reigen knew that she would never have had that kind of patience.

He had a lot of patience though.

For her. For all of her gushing and rambling. For how annoying she must have been. She knew that she could be really annoying. She hadn't changed, much, from when she was younger. When she liked a guy she still hovered much too close and talked far too much…but he didn't seem to mind. She had to remind herself that he was nor like everybody else. That he was someone who cared about her and wanted to be with her, annoying habits and all. Even if she did talk way too much. He didn't care at all about her annoying habits.

Speaking of annoying habits.

She needed a cigarette. She hadn't smoked in a while, she didn't want to make his apartment smell like smoking, but she really needed one. It started during the grand tour of his apartment and it reached it's peak when they moved to his couch. To watch a movie. Nothing more. Nothing more than her hand in his and her head on his chest and his other hand in her hair. Nothing more than her leg bouncing and her fingers drumming against her arm.

She really needed to quit smoking.

"A-Are you ok? I mean if you're bored we can watch something else or do something else or-" said Serizawa. She was bouncing around like she was bored. It would have made sense, he wasn't very interesting after all. He had thought she would have liked this movie but he also had others that she would have liked if she didn't like this. He just hoped that she wasn't so bored that she felt like going. That would have been…he knew that she had to go eventually. She had her own home and her own life and all of that. He just didn't want…he wanted to be with her for as long as possible. And not just because he so rarely got to have her this close for this long. She was leaning up into her and he was holding her hand and touching her hair, which she said was ok, and she had her head on his chest and it was just so…it was good. So good. So…intimate…not like that! No, he would never ask that of her. This was just…the other kind of intimate. The kind that wouldn't send her running if she knew what it was that he thought about morning, noon, and night.

"I'm not bored I just…sorry. I just haven't smoked in a while. I get kind of jittery when I don't…yeah. It's not you, it's me." Said Reigen. It was a bad habit. It was an expensive habit. It was one that she never should have picked up in the first place. She didn't even have the excuses her mother's generation had. She knew starting out that it was bad for her. She knew that there was a very good chance that she would end up addicted….and now here she was. She had been cutting back more lately, especially after the kids had stolen her cigarette case and almost ended up in the same boat that she was in now, but she could not completely quit.

"Oh! You can smoke in here if you want, this building allows smoking. I don't really have an ashtray but you can ash on the floor if you want." Said Serizawa. Well that was certainly a relief. She wasn't bored of him. She wasn't just itching to get out and get back to her own life. She wasn't itching to spend her day off with someone else than the guy she saw every single day. Good. That was…that was good.

"No, it's ok. I'll live. I need to cut back anyway, it's a bad habit." Said Reigen with a shrug.

"Oh…ok, if you want to." Said Serizawa

"What's up?" asked Reigen

"Um…I kind of…you look kind of…I like watching you smoke. I don't know why, you just look-" said Serizawa

"Cool?" asked Reigen

"Yes…and attractive, I guess. I don't know. I just like how you look so relaxed and um….yeah." said Serizawa. He didn't have the words for it. The way she looked when she leaned against a wall, her cigarette between two fingers, her eyes deep in thought. The way her lips looked when they were pursed around her cigarette…especially when she had that really bright red lipstick on that she said looked tacky but wore anyway….she was just so pretty…

"Thanks…but I won't smoke in your house. I mean thank you for thinking…um…yeah. It's flattering but once you get that smell in it never, ever, ever comes out and trust me, you don't want your apartment smelling like mine." Said Reigen. She laughed at the end, a self-depreciating sort of laugh. That just caused him to hold her hand tighter. God, he was so close. He was so very close and she…she may have been bouncing around for two reasons. She decided to focus on the first one. She was not…she was not going to ask him for something that he may not have been ready for.

"I really wouldn't mind. I only want to make you happy. That's all." Said Serizawa. He kind of wished that she would stop bouncing around like that. He was holding her hand and touching her hair and that should have been more than enough for him. She was his girlfriend and he had to be respectful of her. This wasn't like when he kissed her. This would have been much bigger than that…and even that had been a lot. She could have just been kissing him because she thought that he wanted to and…no, she had wanted to, too. That was a risk that had paid off but if he were to ask her to do…anything…then that might have ruined everything that they had together. He did not want to ruin it all even though her skin was so soft and she smelled so nice, despite what she thought about the smell of smoking he liked it, and her hair was so long and soft and her hands were so soft and he wondered if the rest of her was just as soft and-

And then he made an effort to stop wondering about that.

And to stop his hands from wandering. Her hair was long. In touching it he kind of ended up touching her back. Her shirt was soft, it was made of silk maybe or something like it, and it felt nice…so his hand was trailing up and down her back a bit. Which was ok because her hair was there and she said that it was alright if he touched her hair. The problem was that her hair may have been long but it didn't go down to her waist….but that was where his hand wandered down to…

He loved it, there, that dip in her waist. That dip that his hand fit right into. He had touched her there, before, when he picked her up that one time…and it had been amazing…and now he wants nothing more than to pick her up again even though there's no reason to do so and also she would probably have thought that he was weird for even thinking those thoughts.

"You do make me…happy." Said Reigen. His hand had moved a little far south there…and she was not going to stop him. She didn't want to stop him. She leaned a little more sideways, then, just a little. Enough so that he could move to her stomach. She had on a blouse and a skirt but his hand across her stomach still made her heart race and her skin break out in goosebumps. She wasn't telling him to do anything, he did this of his own volition, so it was ok. This was ok with him and it was more than ok with her.

"I do?" asked Serizawa. Ok, he had no plausible reason to be touching her stomach and he knew that he should have stopped but she…she hadn't smacked his hand away or asked him what the hell he thought that he was doing or expressed any sort of displeasure…actually she was turning a little red and she was biting her lower lip and he wished that he could have taken a picture because there was something about her expression that did more for him, then, than anything he had ever seen before and-

"God yes." said Reigen. That came out a little more breathy than she had wanted it to. She couldn't help it. He was…well he wasn't doing much of anything and that was the best and the worst part. She wanted him to move his hand up, move it down, move it somewhere but he was just hovering somewhere in the vicinity of her bellybutton. It made no sense. She was fully dressed and his hand was on her stomach of all placed but here she was sighing and bouncing in place like he was…yeah. This was…she did not understand herself sometimes.

"Oh." Said Serizawa because, well, he could not make words at that moment. She was…she had never spoken to him like that before and it…he wanted to hear her say that again. He wanted to make her make that sound again. He wanted…he wanted a great many things in that moment. He let his fingers trail higher, just a little higher, he isn't going to…well he wants to…he wants to more than anything else in the world and-

Maybe he had gone a little too high.

Because she had leaned back into him kind of hard which meant that she was more than aware of…things that he would have rather she not been aware of. He sat up quickly, his face red, and his eyes unable to meet hers. How could he have been so dumb?! Now she was going to want to do nothing more than walk outside that door and-

"I'm sorry. I pushed you too far and I'm sorry. I can go, now, if you want." Said Reigen. She had been so stupid. She didn't even have the excuse of being drunk. She had been stupid and now he probably wanted her out of his house but he was too polite to throw her out and-

"What? No, I don't want you do go. I'm the one who messed up. I shouldn't have been touching you like that or…or think about you like that. That was…I'm sorry." Said Serizawa

"No, no, don't be. I'm the one who pushed you way too far. I never should have asked you to-" said Reigen

"You didn't ask me to do anything, I took it upon myself to-" said Serizawa

'I didn't mind at all and I thought that you didn't mind-" said Reigen

"I wanted to and I thought that you wanted to, too, and I-" said Serizawa

"Wait…you wanted to….I'm sorry. I just…" said Reigen

"I wanted to touch you like that…and I'm sorry. I pushed you too far and if you want to leave I completely understand. I'm very sorry, Miss Reigen." Said Serizawa quietly. To his surprise she didn't get up and leave, no, instead she stayed seated right beside him and took his hand in hers.

"We…I guess we both want to…yeah. I'm sorry I just…I really like you and I don't want to push you too far but I guess….I'm bad at this. Asking you what you want. I just assumed…and I know that I shouldn't have, now. I just…I want…I want a lot and I'm not sure if what I want is something that you're ready to…to give and I don't want to put any pressure on you." Said Reigen

"I…I feel the same way. I really care about you too and I don't want to ruin this. You…you mean a lot to me." Said Serizawa. There was some silence, then. He wondered for a moment if everything really was ruined, now, between them. If by talking about it, getting it all out into the open, they had made it impossible to ignore and now instead of dealing with it they had no choice but to go their separate ways and-

"We suck at this communication thing, don't we?" laughed Reigen. God, they just kept going round and round and round with this. At least he was being a good sport about it. Most guys would have just packed up by then but he…he put up with her and all of her idiosyncrasies.

"It's hard sometimes." Said Serizawa. This whole thing…when he had someone he cared about this much it seemed like everything could be a pitfall. It was kind of like playing pitfall. One false move and you were done for only there were no second chances…and he had to stop thinking of her like that. She cared about him. She put up with all of his awkwardness. She had even given him a second chance. He had caused so much trouble in the past but she had still given him a second chance…and that was why he loved her.

"It is but…but I guess that maybe it doesn't have to be. I just…I'll just ask you. Do you…what do you want? From this? From me?" asked Reigen. She was prepared to hear whatever he had to say. If he wanted to cuddle they'd cuddle. If he wanted to kiss they'd kiss. If he wanted her to go…no. He wasn't like that. No matter what happened, how annoying or awkward she was, he still wanted to be with her. He cared about her and she…she loved him for that.

"I want…I want to be with you and to…I want to be with you." Said Serizawa trying to find words for everything that he wanted. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to pick her up, to make her happy in every single way a man could make a woman happy.

"So do I but what…but what do you want…I guess right now." Said Reigen. Too vague. She didn't want in general or the far future. She needed right now. She needed to know what he wanted right now because her mind always took her to the worst option when she speculated on her own and she was getting sick of it.

"What do you want?" asked Serizawa. He needed to ask her. He needed to know what she had in mind because he…he had a great many things on his mind involving her right then and there and not all of them were platonic.

"I guess that I…I really want to…I really want to kiss you and…see where it goes." Said Reigen. Her face was red, so red that she wondered if she was going to pass out. She didn't know what was so…so embarrassing about this. She really wanted, in that moment, to make out with him even though she was an adult and adults…they did not use the word make out. Even in their minds. She wanted that sort of physicality with him…not sex but physicality… and she had asked for it so many times before…but never from him…

And she had no idea what he was going to say to that.

"….I would like that a lot, too." Said Serizawa


	39. Emergency Haircuts

"Ho-ly shit…."

That was all that Reigen could say.

"Can you fix it…" said Mob, holding her head in her hands. She felt Master Reigen patting her on the back. This was not how she had planned on spending her Saturday morning. She hadn't realized, last night, just how bad it had been.

"Mob….of course I can! I didn't do that stint in beauty school for nothing. Serizawa, my tools!" said Reigen as she ran her hand through Mob's hair. This was…not good. When Mob had practically broken down the door first thing that morning Reigen expected some world ending calamity, they had a lot of those lately, but it wasn't….well it kind of was. To Mob.

Mob loved her hair.

She didn't seem the type but she did love her hair. It really was her best feature, in Reigen's opinion. Long and thick. Glossy and pure black. The kind of hair Reigen had dreamed of when she was Mob's age and hating her strawberry blonde hair more than anything else in the world. She had always been slightly low-key jealous of Mob and her hair…

But she had never wished this on her.

"Here you go." Said Serizawa. He handed her the big plastic tub of hair stuff she kept under the bathroom sink. He also had her tool box in his other hand in case she meant that she needed literal tools. He had no idea what it was that she was dealing with, what he was even looking at. Miss Kageyama had a short spot in her hair. That happened sometimes. Sometimes you took it too close, that wasn't so bad, you could just cut the whole thing short. It was hair, it would grow back.

He kept his mouth shut about that.

And he made himself scarce. He had no idea what she was doing and he wasn't going to comment. He supposed that hair meant more to girls. Miss Kagyeama had very long hair. It must have taken a while to get it that long. Girls always had longer hair, well the usually had longer hair, and they were always doing something to it. So maybe it wasn't enough just to cut it shorter than usual.

He was so glad that he wasn't a girl. It just seemed like far too much work.

"This isn't going to be that much work. No, not a lot of work at all. Don't worry Mob, I've got this." said Reigen as she ran some dry shampoo through Mob's hair. Yup, right there…and not in the back where it could have been easily hidden. Right there at the side, almost thirteen centimeters it looked like, enough to be noticed. Enough to impede Mob's braiding…and she did love to braid hair.

"….please tell me that you can fix this…" said Mob softly. She should have just let Rei do it. Rei knew about hair. Rei was good at doing hair. Rei wouldn't have made such a stupid, serious, mistake. Mom was going to kill her. She wasn't allowed to cut her hair…and now there was a big piece of it missing!

"I can fix this….but, Mob, listen….I'm going to have to even it out." Said Reigen. She picked up some scissors and opened and closed them a couple times for good measure…which was the wrong thing to do back on the way the lights flickered above them.

"There's not any other way?" asked Mob softly. Her hair was the one nice thing about her. Since she was little people had been telling her how pretty her hair was. Teru loved her hair, too. He was always touching it and telling her how soft it was and how long it was…and now he wasn't ever going to be able to do that anymore. She had spent fourteen, almost fifteen, years growing her hair out. Master Reigen was probably going to have to give her a boy's haircut and then she'd look like a boy for the next fourteen or fifteen years until it grew back and then people would make fun of her and-

"Don't worry, it'll still look nice. It's your hair, Mob, how could it not look nice?" Said Reigen as stared at Mob's hair in thought. Maybe layers would be good….they'd have to be some pretty dramatic layers to keep it looking nice…but she couldn't just chop Mob's hair off…that would be too dramatic. Mob didn't have the face for a pixie cut…well there was no need to be so very dramatic. No, but a bob…or even just…down to her shoulders wouldn't be such a dramatic change….

"Because you're going to have to chop it all off." Said Mob softly. She could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She wasn't even worried, anymore, about how mom would react when she came home and all of her hair was gone. She was more worried about how she'd get made fun of, how Teru wouldn't think that she was pretty anymore…he might even want to have another girlfriend…and then she'd be all alone again….

"All of it? No, unless you want a pixie cut-" said Reigen

"Please don't, Master…please don't." said Mob

"Well then I could do a bob or I could just leave it down to your shoulders. Whatever you want. You'd look cute with it down to your shoulders, or even with a bob." Said Reigen. Mob looked cute at all times, very cute, truly adorable. Not like Reigen looked at fourteen. All oily and spotty and moody.

"Can you cut it to my shoulders…I'd still look good like that, right?" asked Mob. She reached up and felt the short patch in her hair. To her shoulders…that wasn't that short. Tome's hair was shorter and she was really pretty. All of her friends were really pretty. Mob knew that she wasn't really pretty…

"Mob, you'd look good however, but yeah I can do that. Now hold still or you're going to be the little bald girl with no lollipop." Said Reigen as she got to work. Short cuts, lots of combing, all of that stuff she learned all those years ago.

"Lollipop?" asked Mob

"Yeah, when you get a haircut you get a lollipop…or at least I did when I was a kid." Said Reigen as she watched some of Mob's hair fall to the ground. A damn shame. Mob really had such nice hair…and she still did. Even if she couldn't braid it anymore…poor Mob….

"I never got a lollipop…but my mom always cuts my hair. She puts a bowl on my head and cuts my fringe." Said Mob

"I can do your fringe, too, if you want." Said Reigen. Mob's fringe…not her best feature. Well it had been when she was eleven…but she was almost fifteen now. Not that Mob wasn't adorable, no, she was just older. Had she been Mob's kid-Reigen gets off that train of thought. Mob is not her kid, she has no kids, and unless she's really confused about where babies come from there's no chance that she's having a kid….not that she's opposed to…keep your head in the game, Arataki, head in the game.

"No thank you, my mom cut it the other day." Said Mob

"Uh huh….but I take it your mom isn't responsible for this?" asked Reigen as she cut some more of Mob's hair. She almost made a mistake, a terrible mistake, when Mob nodded. She hadn't been kidding about Mob ending up being the little bald girl with no lollipop…there were lollipops around here, right? Yeah, probably, in her desk from the last time she had tried to quit smoking…

"No…that was me. Are you mad?" asked Mob

"Mad? Why would I be mad? It's your hair." Said Reigen

"I don't know…my mom gets mad when I do stuff to my hair, that's all." Said Mob. Reigen sighed. She knew what that was like. What was it with moms and hair? It was Reigen's hair, Mob's hair, and she'd do whatever she pleased with it! Seriously, it was just hair. It would always grow back.

"Yeah, my mom was like that too. One time when I was about your age I actually dyed my hair black and my mother just about shaved me bald right then and there." said Reigen with a laugh, a somewhat bitter one.

"Why did you do that? Your hair is pretty, Master." Said Mob

"Because I…people weren't as ok with difference back when I was a kid. That and, well, there weren't a lot of non-Japanese people where I lived. I was kind of an anomaly." Said Reigen

"But Master, you are Japanese." Said Mob. She felt Master Reigen stop cutting. Either she was done or Mob had said the wrong thing….but that didn't feel at all like the wrong thing. Master Reigen was Japanese. She was. People who were half Japanese were still Japanese….and Mob didn't get why people were mean to one another about something that was so inconsequential as where your parents were from in the first place.

"Thanks, Mob, just…thanks." Said Reigen. She was almost thirty years old. She was not still hung up on that. Nope, not at all. She cut the rest of Mob's hair as quickly as she could. It was way too thick…she ended up having to layer after all. How did Mob walk around with this much hair? It was thick enough to support a beach umbrella…not that Reigen was jealous or anything…

"I did this myself." Said Mob suddenly

"Huh?" asked Reigen. She wondered if Mob heard the part about being the little bald girl with no lollipop…because this really was delicate work…and not just because this was Mob. She had so much hair….

"Last night…I saw my mom's curling iron and…Rei curls my hair sometimes….so I tried to…to curl my hair because I look nice like that…and then…I think I held on too long because a piece of my hair fell out…" said Mob. She should have just let Rei do it. She loved doing hair. She shouldn't have been so dumb. Of course she messed it up. Now she was getting all of her hair chopped off and-

"Happens to the best of us, Mob, happens to the best of us." Said Reigen with a wave of her hand.

"It does?" asked Mob. She couldn't imagine Master Reigen ever making such a dumb mistake. She knew a lot about this stuff, a lot about everything, much more than Mob knew. She wonders, for a moment, if Master Reigen is lying to her…but of course she isn't. Master Reigen had made herself perfectly clear, she was never going to lie to Mob again about anything. Ever. She said that in those exact words. She'd keep things from Mob that she was too young to know about but she would never lie. Never again.

"Oh yeah. I did the same thing…but in university. My hair is a lot finer than yours, too, so you can imagine how I looked…and it was a chunk of hair from the front, too, in case you ever wondered about the fringe." Said Reigen. She omitted the fact that she had been drunk. Yeah…Mob didn't need to know every single sordid detail about her wild youth.

"It never grew back?!" squeaked Mob, alarmed. She felt something metal press, briefly, against the back of her head.

"Mob, what did I say about the bald girl with no lollipop?" asked Reigen. Or the little girl who had to go to the hospital at eight thirty in the morning because she got a pair of salon scissors lodged in the back of her head on accident because she just wouldn't sit still.

"Oh…sorry….but, did it really never grow back? That's why your fringe is so short and kind of choppy?" asked Mob

"Choppy?!" asked Reigen

"Just a little…and Rei said it first." Said Mob

"I'll have you know that in the ten years I've been wearing my hair like this not once has anyone ever called it choppy." Said Reigen

"Oh…Tome says that the best friends you'll ever have are the ones who tell you the things about yourself that you don't want to hear." Said Mob

"…thanks…" said Reigen

"I think it looks nice. I think you always look very pretty Master. Even the time when you bought all of that fake makeup on Wish and-" said Mob

"Ugh, don't remind me! Let my mistakes be a lesson to you, student. If it seems like it's too good to be true then it most likely is." Said Reigen

"I don't buy makeup anyway….but you're right. I thought that I'd look nicer if it curled my hair…but of course it didn't work-" said Mob

"Mob, you always look nice. Where's this coming from? Are people being assholes again? Because you shouldn't waste your time on assholes like that." Said Reigen. Easier said than done. Easier said with twice as much life experience as Mob had. Easier said from the comforts of the adult world where if someone was an asshole you could just never speak to them again. Even if it was a coworker you could just change jobs. It wasn't like school where you were trapped in a classroom with someone for the majority of your day…your year…your life….

Middle school sucked back then and it always would.

"I don't know I just…I guess that I don't feel like I look nice sometimes." Said Mob. She didn't know how to say it. The way she felt. Like everyone in the world was just…and she knew that everyone in the world didn't look better than her, that it was wrong to judge others on appearances anyway, and stuff like that…but she just could not help the way she felt. She wondered if it was one of those things that got easier as you got older. She hoped that it was one of those things.

"Man, you could not pay me to go back to being your age, I swear." Said Reigen

"What do you mean?" asked Mob

"Well Mob I'm going to put this in the nicest terms possible….middle school sucks. It sucks to be your age. It's just the worst. You feel like crap all the time, you're at your most self-conscious, and a lot of people turn into complete and utter assholes seemingly overnight." Said Reigen

"…I guess…" said Mob. Master Reigen was kind of right. People had always made fun of her but it had gotten kind of worse…but it was ok. She had friends now, friends that weren't Ritsu. Not that she didn't love her little brother, she did, but he was her brother…she wanted some friends who weren't her brother. Who were girls…and she had some…and that made the whole thing a lot easier. Even if everything that Master Reigen had just said was pretty spot on.

"But don't worry. It gets easier the older you get. You can choose your own company, your own path in life, and that makes all the difference." Said Reigen even though it wasn't that simple. Sure you left the classroom…but the world, in a lot of ways, wasn't much different…but Mob didn't need to know that. Not now, anyway.

"You can do whatever you want?" asked Mob. The thought is dizzying, almost as dizzying as the thought of never being able to braid her hair again. The floor was covered in her hair…and her head felt way too light. She wanted to shake her hair back and forth, to really feel it, but she did not want to be the bald girl with no lollipop. Well she could deal with not having a lollipop but she didn't want to end up bald. Short hair was bad enough.

Mom wasn't going to like this.

When Mob grew up she would be able to do whatever she wanted with her hair…with her entire life. She could work for Master Reigen fulltime…they could hang out all the time. She wasn't supposed to come in to work today. She and Rei and Tome were going to the manga store and then the videogame store. But here she was…and she didn't much want to leave. Even though she had to. She wished that Master Reigen could come…

But she couldn't.

Being an adult meant that you could do whatever you wanted…but you also had to do stuff…important stuff. Like go to work. She wished that Master Reigen had been her age. Then they could have been friends, well they were friends, but they could have been better friends…no, that didn't make sense either. Master Reigen was her best friend. They just couldn't hang out like she and Rei and Tome could. That was all. But she and Master Reigen were still friends and they would always be there for each other.

Like when one of them burnt out a big section of their hair and they had to get it fixed, fast, before anyone noticed.

"Within reason, and you have responsibilities, but yeah you can make a lot more decisions. Where to live, where to work, what to study-" said Reigen. She never wanted to go back to being Mob's age…or maybe she did. There was a lot of freedom to being fourteen. When you were fourteen your problems were big to you but small in the grand scheme of things. Like this. Reigen knew that if she ever burnt out a piece of her hair she'd just even it out and go about her life. Her mother couldn't just come up to her and chew her out for marring her beautiful hair or whatever mom would have said. Mob was in for it when she got home…

Some things were better about being fourteen.

And some things were worse.

Like getting reamed out for messing your hair up.

"How to wear your hair?" asked Mob. The scissors stopped. Master Reigen took a step back. Mob figured that it was all done with now. She shook out her hair…it was too light. She reached behind herself…it was right to her shoulders…how would she braid it now?

"Yup. Even how to wear your hair." Said Reigen. She went over to her desk and dug out her hand mirror. Good for contacting the other side as well as for quick touch ups when you didn't look your best. She held it out in front of Mob.

Mob stared at herself.

"…my hair is short…" said Mob. She touched the ends of it. It was…short…well she had known that it was short but now she was seeing it and…and it didn't look bad at all. She knew that Master Reigen knew what she was doing…but for some reason she kept on imaging that she would end up looking like a boy. This was….this was nice.

She looked nice.

"Yeah, it is, but it's still yours." Said Reigen. She gave Mob's hair an affectionate tug. It was a decent cut. The layers left something to be desired, Reigen was out of practice when it came to someone other than herself or Serizawa, but Mob seemed to like it.

That was what mattered.

"Do you think that I can still braid it?" asked Mob. It was nice, she didn't look at all like a boy…just because the only hair that she had ever seen Master Reigen had been Serizawa's did not mean that she didn't know how to cut girl's hair too…and it was nice. Mom wouldn't be too upset, that was what mattered…

Well that and what REALLY mattered.

"Come on, let's give it a try."


	40. The Start of Summer

At some point Reigen was going to have to get that air conditioner fixed.

Summer was upon them. Hot, sticky, unpleasant summer. The kind of weather that made her want to just lay down and go to sleep until the leaves started changing color. The kind of wear that made her makeup melt like a snow cone in the sun. The kind of weather that made her wish that she wasn't too lazy to shave her legs. Stockings in the summer were the absolute worst…

Everything about summer was the absolute worst.

Well not everything. Summer meant summer break. Reigen had been out of school for years now but she still counted down the days until school let out. For Mob's sake. For Mob's sake and for the rest of the kids, too. Mob always came around more during summer break. She hadn't been coming around as often as she had before, boyfriends ate up a lot of time, but summer would be different. Not that Reigen was going to be monopolizing Mob's time again. That hadn't gone over well the last time.

She'd missed the kid.

She still missed the kid.

And she would continue to miss Mob and all of the others, too. The beginning of summer meant the end of the school term and the beginning of the next. Mob was going to be in her third year of middle school, Rei her second, and Tome was going to be in her first year of high school. They were growing up and one day they'd grow up and head out into the world. High school. University. Adulthood. She'd miss them all, she really would, but she was not going to hold them back.

Their lives were their own.

And Reigen was happy for them. Hence the fact that instead of going out and getting the air conditioner fixed, or better yet junking this one and getting one that didn't break down constantly, she instead chose to spend that money on something nice for the kids. End of term cards. Well Tome got a graduation card but the others got end of term cards. She hadn't agonized over their gifts, no, the decision had come quickly. She had been at the train station and the card and gift shop had been right there and then one thing led to another and she found herself stuffing thirty thousand yen into three separate cards. Not an insignificant amount of money, especially for Reigen, but more than she had ever gotten in any of her cards when she had been a kid.

Besides, she would have just spent that money on nonsense anyway.

She knew herself and she knew that the money she put forth for their gifts would have gone down the drain like it always did. So really this was the more responsible thing to do. The most responsible thing to do. She hadn't been the best at being responsible, her mother could certain attest to that, but there was no time to start like the present. The money was going to end up going to nonsense anyway. Videogames and makeup and candy and things that looked like cats, Mob had a bit of a fixation, so really it might as well go to their nonsense.

"…but what do the aliens have to gain from abducting us? And why even bother bringing us back?" The front door of the office opened. Reigen could hear their voices echoing up the stairs. It was just her that day. Serizawa was off visiting his mother. She would have gone too, she totally would have gone too, but work was just so demanding and she had to give Mob and Tome and Rei their end of term gifts. She'd go next time he went, or maybe the time after that, or something. She wanted to meet his mother. She totally wanted to meet his mother. There was nothing scary about that at all. She was just a mother. Reigen had a mother. Everyone had a mother! Well not everyone had a mother but mothers were so common that they were nothing to be scared of. She was not scared, she just had a lot to do, that was all.

"They're aliens, Mob, we can't even begin to comprehend them." Said Tome. Reigen wondered if she should hand them their gifts when they came in or maybe leave them on their desks or maybe make like she was upset but then just as they were getting worked up reveal that it was all an act and they were getting gifts to use on whatever nonsense they chose.

"Maybe they just like messing with us." Said Rei. Right. That last one wouldn't work on her. She had been using her powers more and more lately. Ever since that mess with Mob's little brother. She was getting better, though, she could come within fifty meters of Mob's house now without freaking out it seemed.

"That's not very nice of them at all. I bet that if they wanted to they could just ask if some people wanted to be abducted and experimented on. I bet a lot of people would like that." Said Mob. Reigen settled for sitting at her desk and pretending to work. She'd make like this was a normal day and then surprise them…as much as one could surprise them when Rei was around.

"But who would want that?" said Rei as they came through the door. Summer clothes, not school uniforms, though she wondered if Mob knew the difference. The other two were dressed for the weather, t-shirts and shorts and sandals, but Mob had decided to wear a heavy looking shirt with a long skirt, knee socks, and gym shoes. Reigen wondered how Mob could stand to be dressed like that in this heat, though that was how she had been dressing year round since Reigen had met her.

"Who wouldn't?" said Tome

"I wouldn't." said Rei

"Wouldn't what?" asked Reigen pretending that she hadn't been eavesdropping the whole time.

"To volunteer to get abducted by aliens." Said Mob as she settled down at her desk. Rei and Tome did the same, though Rei's desk was more of a coffee table. Reigen would have to get her a real desk soon…and find space for another real desk. Tome only had her own desk because the one Reigen had gotten for Serizawa, before, had been way too small. It was only fair that Rei got one too.

"Because they keep on just taking people without even bothering to ask." Said Rei

"It's impolite." Said Mob

"I don't care, I'd still go. Who in their right mind would pass up a chance like that?" asked Tome

"Yeah, I'd go for that. Just so long as they weren't going to do anything weird to me." Said Reigen with a shrug. She pretended to work as she spoke. Her eyes glanced down at the plain white envelopes on her desk. Now or later, that was the question….

"But what if they weren't nice? Like if they said that they weren't going to do anything weird to you but then they did?" asked Mob

"Then, Mob, I would have no choice but to use my green belt." Said Reigen

"Even if you were millions of lightyears from Earth?" asked Mob

"Of course." Said Reigen as if this were the most natural thing in the world to be talking about…which for the lot of them it kind of was. They'd had weirder conversations before, much weirder, like the time they debated for about two hours if a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable. Turns out it's somehow both at the same time.

"Master, you're amazing." Said Mob. Reigen smiled. A compliment from Mob was never not heartwarming. She wondered how long this would last. Until high school? University? At some point Mob would have to stop thinking of her as Master and just start thinking of her as Reigen. The others already did. Eventually she might even end up being Arataki to them, or just Taki as she was called by the few people who called her by her given name. She knew Mob's big plans for the future, though they were probably amended since it didn't look like her brother would be marrying one of her friends any time soon, but she knew that Mob did not envision a future where they were not all friends living in the same building or at least general area living out her slice of life dreams. She wondered how close to reality her dreams would come. Times changed, things changed, and people changed…

"Wasting an opportunity like that is not amazing. I'd give your 3DS for a chance to be abducted. Both of your 3Ds's and all of your games." Said Tome

"Why ours? Why not yours?" asked Rei

"Because I need something to do while I wait for the aliens to abduct me. Besides, you both hardly play, and I'm on my way to making a career out of it." Said Tome

"I thought you were going to go to university and study the mysteries of the paranormal." Said Reigen

"I can do two things." Said Tome

"I thought that you were going to go to Roswell and study the conspiracy about the aliens." Said Rei

"I can do three things." Said Tome

"I thought that you were going to marry Inukawa and live in a mountain top observatory together." Said Mob

"I can do four things…and I never said anything about marrying him! Marriage is an antiquated concept that we need to move away from. Like Reigen has even though Serizawa would totally say yes if she asked." Said Tome. Reigen stopped pretending to work. Again with this? She had thought that they would have come off it by now. She and Serizawa were together, why was there still a need to 'ship' them? And she did not need to be reminded of her Christmas cake status either, thank you very much.

"They can't get married now, it's summer. By the time they're done planning it'll be winter at the earliest and Reigen can't get married in the winter. She's a summer with fall undertones." Said Rei

"I think that Master Reigen would look really nice no matter what colors she wore…and doesn't the bride have to wear white, anyway?" asked Mob

"Well no, not really, you can wear whatever colors you want. You have to think about the color palette of your decorations and flowers though. Also what your bride's maids are going to be wearing. I'm a summer, definitely, but you and Tome are winters…so maybe we should all meet in the middle and wait until next spring?" said Rei

"Wait a minute-" said Reigen. Ok, she'd take the shipping. She'd take the shipping over…whatever this was. Them planning her wedding…and assuming that she would have a wedding…and assuming that it would be a western style ceremony…and assuming that they would be in the wedding party…though it wasn't like Reigen had a lot of female friends….but it was all a moot point because she and Serizawa were not even close to beginning to discuss marriage! They had just gone from making out to slightly heavier making out…and she hadn't even met his mother yet!

"Maybe fall would be better? Because then it wouldn't be as hot and also I think that we all look nice in fall colors." Said Mob

"That's true, but fall dresses aren't as cute. We'll have to find something that we all look good in, too, and that could be a real problem since we've all got different coloring and we're nowhere near the same height." Said Rei

"You can just dye your hair back to black." Said Tome

"No. I will never go back to having black hair." Said Rei

"Your hair is black? I always thought that it was more of a dark brown, like your mom's." asked Mob

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" asked Rei

"No, I've never seen you with anything other than red hair. Well I mean I can see your roots sometimes but they always look closer to a dark brown than a black." Said Mob

"You shouldn't have kept your eyes closed when we went to the bathhouse." Said Tome

"I-I was being polite! I mean I was trying to be…" said Mob

"You not looking is more impolite than you staring." Said Tome

"I think that both are equally impolite. I mean you're just supposed to treat it as a nonissue. Even in a mixed gender onsen." Said Rei

"There are mixed gender onsens?" asked Mob looking thoroughly scandalized. Reigen would have laughed if she hadn't been praying that the conversation stayed on bathhouse trips that she had not been invited to and not back to her nonexistent upcoming nuptials.

"Yeah, a few. It's more inclusive that way." said Rei

"And good for people on their honeymoons." Said Tome with a look that could only be described as suggestive. Rei giggled. Mob, as usual, did not seem to notice.

"Master Reigen and Serizawa would want to go somewhere nicer than the onsen downtown for their honeymoon." Said Mob. Reigen groaned. They were back to this? Why was this so fascinating to them? There must have been something more interesting to talk about than this nonexistent marriage….though Mob had a point. The bathhouse downtown wasn't really that nice….and the last thing that Serizawa would have wanted was a bath with a bunch of strangers…but they could always rent out…nope. Off this train of thought before it went anywhere else.

"Like a fancy spa out in the country. Where they can be all alone and just enjoy being in love with each other. With hot rock massages and hot springs and clay baths and-" said Rei

"I feel like this is something that you've been planning for a while….though I don't think that Mob's little brother would be into it." Said Tome

"Oh! Don't talk about him! I'm over him…and I never was that into him to begin with! He's too…too…" said Rei

"Gay?" asked Tome

"Oh!" said Rei. She threw her hands over her eyes and flopped down backwards onto the couch. Reigen didn't blame her. She had been really into the kid, God only knew why, and she had found out the truth about him in the worst way possible…by getting drunk for the first time in her life and spilling her guts to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that he had a boyfriend…and that I didn't know that he had a boyfriend…and that he has a boyfriend right now…well I'm not sorry about that last part. I'm glad that he's happy and I wish that you had someone who made you happy too. If I had another brother I would ask him to go out with you." Said Mob

"That's even worse than being rejected." Said Rei

"It is?" said Mob

"Yeah, how would you feel if someone told Hanazawa that he had to be your boyfriend?" asked Tome

"Who?" asked Mob

"Does it even matter?" asked Tome

"Yes. A person I didn't know asked Teru to date me then I would be very uncomfortable but if someone I knew told Teru to date me I wouldn't be uncomfortable. I would be sad that Teru didn't decide on his own to be my boyfriend but it would be less weird." Said Mob

"…you are severely overthinking this." said Tome

"I am?" asked Mob

"Yeah, but just a little." Said Reigen jumping into their conversation. Maybe she could steer it in the direction she wanted it to go…which was the direction of the mysterious white envelopes on her desk. Actually any direction was good as long as it was away from the direction of her totally not happening marriage to Serizawa. Not that it would have been so bad…and not that it would have been anything other than terrifying, too, the thought of him just asking her to….yeah. That was way too much too soon. Let them plan their own weddings. Well Mob's wedding….she was growing up so fast….it was like yesterday she had been eleven and now she was going into her third year of middle school.

"Master, is something wrong?" asked Mob

"No, why?" asked Reigen

"Because you got that far off look, that's all. I'm trying to get better at reading people's faces and stuff. You just looked kind of sad, that's all, or maybe I just didn't read right. Are you sad, Master?" asked Mob

"No, I'm fine. What would I have to be sad about? Life's good! Life's great!" said Reigen. It really was. She had a boyfriend, she was pulling down decent money, her mother had gotten off her case after hearing about how she had both a boyfriend and was making decent money, and she had all the kids over at once. Really, life was good.

"Because it's hot as hell in here?" asked Tome

"Eh, I hadn't noticed." Said Reigen

"Because Serizawa is gone and you miss him because you love each other more than anything else in the world and even though you know that having time apart is healthy your heart aches because he's so far away and even though you're surrounded by your friends you still can't stop thinking about him and wishing that he were right here beside you?" asked Mob

"No, I'm ok…and that was oddly specific…" said Reigen

"Because you're going to get tea all over the front of your shirt and it won't come out because that's pure silk?" asked Rei. Reigen pushed her tea cup to the other side of her desk. Good to know…though this shirt wasn't pure silk…but it was nice to know that she could fool even Rei. She was like a soothsayer when it came to clothing…or a Doberman…

"No, I'm fine, really. Well I supposed that there is something on my mind…" said Reigen

"Are you worried that even though Serizawa says that he loves you with all his heart he might secretly be unhappy with you and wish that he was with someone else? Someone older and prettier? Even though you know that you shouldn't feel like that you do? And then when you're together all you can worry about is if he really wants to be with you? And even when you kiss-" said Mob

"Mob, you're not even close to being right….and you and I have to talk later…" said Reigen. Well then. Middle school relationships were not supposed to be that…much. Poor Mob….insecurity was a bitch and a half. Reigen, of all people, knew all too well…

"Mob, Teru loves you. I can tell even without using my powers that he would never break up with you." Said Rei

"I-I wasn't talking about-" said Mob

"And if he does all we have to do is buy some sky masks and then fill a couple pillow cases with doorknobs and-" said Tome

"Anyway! There is something on my mind and that something is…this." said Reigen. She picked up the envelopes and held them up high effectively ending the conversation before she overheard something she would be expected to testify about in court one day. Though if Haystack ever did break Mob's heart Reigen would pretend that she never heard any conspiracies to commit any vicious pillow case beatings.

"You want me to take those to the mailbox, Master?" asked Mob. Reigen resisted the urge to faecpalm. Maybe she should have spent the extra money on festive envelopes. After all she had already spent thirty thousand yen on the three of them. They were worth it, though.

"No, I think that those mean we're being fired. My dad got an envelope from work and then he got fired and now he just sleeps all day or sits in the living room watching TV and napping." Said Rei

"Nobody's getting-" said Reigen. Well now, hadn't this backfired nicely? Also she made a mental note to have a talk with Rei later, too. Poor kid. That must have been hard on her family. Two older sisters in university and one going into her last year of high school, plus her mother and father had been talking about having another one…and Reigen knew way too much about the inner workings of Rei's family. Way, way, way too much.

"You can't fire me! I quit! And if I quit they quit too! Come on, we'll open up our own psychic agency! With videogames and a full drink bar!" said Tome

"Guys-" said Reigen trying her best to restore order…and failing.

"But I don't want to quit…or be fired…." Said Mob softly. Reigen shook her head. How could Mob ever think that she'd be fired? That any of them were fireable?

"Too late. Come on, let's go and rent our own office-" said Tome

"Hey! First of all nobody is getting fired and second of all there is no way I'm letting you three open up a rival office! Sheesh! You try and do something nice for a person and you end up with your whole staff quitting at once…" said Reigen. She got to her feet and handed each of them their cards.

"So we're not getting fired?" asked Mob. Reigen reached over and tussled her hair messing it up in the process. It still hadn't grown back all the way from her little emergency haircut.

"What? No, nobody's getting fired. I just thought that since it's the end of the school year I would do something nice for you guys." Said Reigen as they opened their cards. She watched the looks on their faces as they found the money. She wished that they would have read the inside….well at least Mob was…

And then the next thing Reigen knew she was being hugged.

First by Mob and then by Rei. Tome was the last to join them and she decided that the best thing to do was to get a running start and then jump on them. They almost fell off balance but Mob caught them. That hug went on for too long, and the room was entirely too hot, but Reigen wasn't complaining. This was nice. This was really, really, nice.

"I un-quit! Now, to the arcade!" said Tome. She was the first to break the hug. Well at Reigen was right, one way or another her money was going to end up spent on nonsense. Whatever. They were happy, that was what mattered. They were happy and it was a happy occasion…even if they were about to tear out of there like the room was on fire…which it felt like it was….

"Master, aren't you coming?" asked Mob as Tome and Rei made plans to head off to the arcade and play only the games that gave you the best returns. Apparently there were big ticket items to be had and they finally had enough money to earn them.

"I'd love to Mob, I really would, but there's still work I have to do." Said Reigen. She wanted to go, she really did, but this was going to have to be one of those times when they would have to leave her behind. Those times would be coming up more and more…and she was ok with that. That was just the way it went. She didn't expect them to stay-

But Mob instantly sat back down.

"Ok. I'll wait." Said Mob. Even though she loved the arcade. Even though this room could have doubled as a sauna. Even though her friends had been itching to go a second ago…and now they were following her lead. Even though….even though there really wasn't anything for Mob to do….

She still waited.

They all still waited.

And Reigen didn't keep them too long. It was way too hot for that. Heh. Maybe one of the prizes was a new air conditioner.


	41. Air Conditioner

Reigen really, really, really, needed a new air conditioner.

"You can take that off, your suit jacket I mean, you look like you're dying." Said Reigen. She knew that she must not have looked much better. It was too damn hot in that office. She had put the getting the air conditioner off for too long and now they were in the middle of what must have been the worst heat wave in at least ten years. It was so hot out that even Mob and the others had decided to wait out the worst of the heat in places where there was actual air conditioning. Rei's house had central air, apparently, and Reigen had spent some time debating with herself as to whether or not it would have been weird to show up with some paper thin excuse as to why she was there.

She needed to get out of the heat.

Her own apartment wasn't much better. She had an air conditioner but it was only in the living room and it was cheap as all else. There was no way for it to go up against the hell that she found herself in. She wondered if it was any better at Serizawa's. She had been to his apartment before and she knew that he had an air conditioner…she wondered how it was at night. She had been tossing and turning all night because of this heat…

Not that she would ask to spend the night with him, no, it was much too soon for that.

She had nothing against moving forward in their relationship. A relationship was like a shark, it had to keep on moving forward or it would die. Since she did not want their relationship to die then it was time to keep it going. Not that she was pushing for anything and not that he was, either…aside from meeting his mother. She hadn't met anyone's mother, anyone who she had been seeing's mother, in so long…well she hadn't seriously dated anyone in a very long time. She should have just gone with him. That was what people their age in committed relationships did.

She had been too afraid.

"I would but I'm pretty sure that I've sweated through my shirt and undershirt, too." Said Serizawa. He had no idea that it could even get so hot. No wonder that they hadn't had any customers in a while. It was like an oven in there. He almost wanted to ask if he could go home…but he wanted to be with her…and also that was bad work etiquette. They still worked together, she was still his boss, even though they were dating. It was less complicated than he thought that it would be. He cared about her, it wasn't feelings transference from the President, he genuinely cared about her….and he would have thought that it would have been complicated but it wasn't.

This was the least complicated thing in his life.

Nothing had ever made more sense in his life than her. Reigen Arataki. He loved her….he had very strong feelings towards her, and she felt the same way…mostly the same way. Even if they didn't…a lot of things…they still cared about each other. She cared about her. She may not have gone with to meet his mother but she still cared about him.

She was wonderful…even if she still hadn't got a new air conditioner even though it was hot as an oven in the office and had been for quite a while.

"And I haven't?" asked Reigen. She was in nothing but her silk shell and her skirt. She had even bitten the bullet and shaved her legs, she looked like she had gotten into a fight with a cat, but at least she could ditch the stockings for a little bit. She needed to get them a new air conditioner. She could not take much more of this…the only problem was that her bank account could not take it. She really needed to stop pissing her money away on stupid impulse buys and takeout…even though it was so hot out that she didn't dare cook. No need to set the world on fire.

"Um…I hadn't noticed!" said Serizawa even though he had. She was in her silk shirt thing and she looked so pretty…and he had told her so, before, that she looked pretty that dad. Once was enough. Too many times and she would have thought that he was insincere or he just liked her for her looks or something like that.

"Uh-huh, I'm sure you hadn't." said Reigen. He really was too pure for this Earth. She was hot in more ways than one and she knew it. She just had healthy self-esteem, that was all, she was not full of herself as her mother had often accused her of being.

"Ok….maybe a little." Said Serizawa softly. He liked to look at her and she liked it when he looked at her. So therefore there was nothing wrong with looking at her. She was his girlfriend. It was ok to look at her…even now. There was just something about her now, all shiny, that made his heart skip a beat. She was always so pretty, so beautiful, even covered in sweat.

"A little." Said Reigen with a smile. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. She knew that she shouldn't have done something like that during work hours, they may have been a couple but they still had to work together, but it wasn't like they had any customers and the kids were off somewhere waiting out the worst of this heat. It was just him and her.

"Or maybe more than a little?" asked Reigen before she kissed him on the cheek, dangerously close to his mouth. He was red, now, and so was she. They could both just blame it on the heat.

"Maybe more than a little." Said Serizawa. He knew that this was ok. He leaned up and kissed her. Quick and short. Always quick and short when they were at work. Work was not the place for…all of that. Not that there was an all of that. Not yet. There was kissing, a lot of kissing, and that was more than enough for him. He had never thought that he would ever have had this with someone let alone someone as wonderful as her.

He kissed her again.

And he shrugged out of his suit coat because it was as hot as an oven in hell in that office. He stood up and kissed her just a little more. Part of him, the part of him that watched way too many ...'art' films wanted to pick her up and sit her on his desk and-

He didn't.

Because this was real life and in real life the door wasn't locked and technically they were working even though they hadn't had an appointment or a walk in since this heat wave began and someone could still walk in at any time and he knew that they would not think much of either of them if they walked in on…this.

Not that they did anything more than kiss.

She kissed him again. Reigen knew that it was too damn hot for this. It was too hot and they were at work and a customer could walk in and see her making out with him and then that would not have been good for business at all. This was a place of business, not a peep show, and people did not want to see that. She knew, she had walked in on enough make outs to know how awkward it was, but it wasn't like they were going to be getting any more walk ins any time soon. Not in this heat.

It was sweltering.

"Um…should I…should I lock the door?" asked Serizawa. This was…he had no problem with this. This was nice. This was the sort of things that they usually saved for after work. It was hot, very hot, and getting hotter. Sweltering. That was the word for this. This room was sweltering.

"Do-do you want to?" asked Reigen. It would have been easy. He could just reach across the room with his powers and lock the door…and it wouldn't take more than half a second. But setting the lock…that would be…if that door was locked then they could have kept up with this…which of course she wanted to.

But they were at work.

And it was too damn hot. She was barely near him but she could feel the silk of her shirt clinging to her. He hadn't been exaggerating, either, about sweating through his undershirt and shirt. They could not go on like this in this sweltering heat. They would die of heat stroke or at least pass out. She wanted more than anything else for him to pick her up and sit her on her desk, or maybe his, and just kiss her and other such things she had read about in those books she kept hidden under her bed….which was ridiculous because she was a grown woman and she knew that doing anything on her desk would only either break it, make a mess, or both.

It was too damn hot for any of this.

A drop of water, no, sweat, hit her on the forehead. She wiped it off. Yes, way too hot.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" said Serizawa. He pulled his shirt up, quickly, and used it like a towel…even though they had plenty of paper towels…but he had not been thinking. He had not been thinking of anything other than the fact that he had done something as gross as sweat on her and now she was probably grossed out and-

A hand on his wrist.

"It's fine, really, I'm ok." Said Reigen. He was so cute sometimes. Yes, that was a good word for him right now. Cute in the way that he was so flustered and worried. It was just a drop of sweat but he was acting like he had spat in her face or something. He was so cute…but it was too hot for this. She had felt like a melting candle all day. She usually wore a full face of makeup when she was at work…or went out…or really anytime she had to be seen in public. Maybe it was due to some deep seated insecurity, maybe she just liked wearing makeup, or maybe she just wore so much of it because she compulsively bought it. She didn't know. All she knew was that he was currently making a mess out of not only his shirt but also her face.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry…again. I'm very, very, very sorry." Said Serizawa. He tucked his shirt back in. He had undone all of her hard work. He had seen her touching up her makeup before. There were so many things she needed to do and in a very specific order…and that was just to touch it up! He had ruined all of her handiwork and now she was probably mad at him or-

Or maybe she'd kiss him.

That worked too.

"Stop apologizing. You're fine. It's hot as all else in here but you're fine." Said Reigen. She almost wished that he would have locked the door….but that would have been irresponsible. This was a place of business, not a love hotel, though a love hotel would have made her quite a bit more money. Not that she was going to be making any money in this heat.

Maybe it would turn into a terrible cycle.

No customers because of the heat and then no air conditioner because she wasn't making enough money and then the customers would stay away and it would all just be a mess…or something. Maybe she should just close up shop now and reopen when the worst of the heat passed. They did that in other countries, didn't they? They needed to start doing that in Japan, especially with global warming being what it was.

"You are….I mean it is! It is…very hot….in here." Said Serizawa

"I need to get an air conditioner before we go out of business." Muttered Reigen. She took a step back. The movement of the air between them offered no more relief from the heat than the cheap electric fans she had going in every corner of the office or the windows that, while they were opened, offer not even the slightest breeze. It was not only hot but thick and sticky and humid. The sort of summer heat that made her want to start walking north until she reached somewhere cold.

"That would be nice…" said Serizawa. When he was a kid, before the incident, he would spend his summer days in the arcade where there was air conditioning. They hadn't had one when he had been a kid, before the incident anyway, after that mom had gotten him whatever he wanted. He had almost forgotten just how hot summer could have gotten. He had spent fifteen years of his life inside and then another three going from air conditioned car to air conditioned building and then back again.

"I think…yeah. I'll just bite the bullet and get us a damn air conditioner before we die of heat stroke." Said Reigen. She pulled her shirt from her skin. It clung to her. She felt gross. Her bra was digging into her skin and the lace was killing her. She wished that she were at home, she could have at least been slightly less uncomfortable there…but she was an adult and they could have had a walk in at any moment.

"I…I could help with that." Said Serizawa. He knew why she hadn't gotten one already. Money. She said that she didn't have enough. He had plenty…well a decent amount, and there was no price that he could put on her comfort. Also this heat was not good for business. She had been saying that any day now the heat could break…even though Miss Kurosaki had said that it would be a very long and very hot summer.

"Well yeah, I'll definitely need help carrying it unless I can get a hold of Mob. I swear, she gets a boyfriend and suddenly she forgets about old Master Reigen…nah, I'm kidding. I'm happy for her and there is no way that I'm going through all that again. No, her life is her own." Said Reigen. Mob was busy these days. She had her friends and her boyfriend, who according to said friends she spent a lot of time with, and Reigen did miss her. Reigen missed her a lot but she was not going to eat up all of Mob's free time again. That had not been a good fight, not that there was such a thing as a good fight, but it had not been something that she wanted to relive. No, Mob could have all the fun she wanted and Reigen was not going to call her in for something as easy as carrying an air conditioner. That was what Serizawa was for. Heh.

"Um….I mean that I could help you buy one. I mean I remember what you said about them being expensive-" said Serizawa

"Serizawa, I know how much you make. I know because I pay you. Don't worry about this, I've got you." Said Reigen. She would not ask that of him. Not in a million years. Not even if he hadn't worked for her. No, she could take care of herself and she could not ask that of him. She had this.

"I-I want to help." Said Serizawa. This was for his comfort, too. He wanted them both to just be comfortable for a few minutes. It was too hot and sticky and just uncomfortable. Besides, she was his girlfriend and it was his job to help her out when she needed him. That was what boyfriends did…though not employees….which one outweighed the other? He didn't know. They had never discussed that before. It hadn't come up. Was it coming up now? He didn't know.

"Serizawa, I've got this." said Reigen. She could take care of herself. She was not going to ask that of him. Even if he hadn't worked for her that was still a major purchase. How did you split an air conditioner anyway? He would have had half ownership of it. That meant that if they were to break up then, what, exactly? They sawed it in half and then nobody had an air conditioner and then nobody had any air conditioner to condition the air with?

Break up.

She doesn't like to think about that. She doesn't like to think about how easily they could break out. She lov-she liked him a lot. They were happy together now. They were both so very happy…but that could change. She knew how fast it could change. She knew how fast things could turn sour and how fast she could find herself all on her own again and how difficult it would be to…to get back to being on her own…and maybe she was just trying to protect herself or…or something.

Or maybe she just didn't want to break him financially.

She hadn't been lying when she said that she knew how much he made. Shew was the one who wrote his checks after all. That was another reason not to accept that of him, him helping her buy a new air conditioner, and it was a much better one than her own insecurity due to her long and painful romantic history.

"You said that you didn't, before, and I want to help you…both because I lo-like you a lot and also because it's very, very, very hot in here." Said Serizawa. He pulled his shirt away from his chest just because it was so hot and his shirt was so sticky. Ick. Just ick.

Her eyes were on him.

"It is…" said Reigen. She wanted to tell him, again, that she was fine and she didn't need help…but that would just be giving in to that part of her. The part of her that had a foot out the door just waiting for this to be over, for their relationship to implode as hers always did….and she should not have been worried about that. He wasn't like that. This wasn't like that. They were together and this was about more than….more than what a lot of her other relationships had been about. This was about him and her and lo-caring about him. Caring so much about him that she felt like she loved him…something that she was not going to say to him. Not for a very long time, anyway, not until she was sure that he would say it back. There was nothing worse than when they didn't say it back.

"Half sound ok?" asked Reigen. They would never get to the point at which he would even want to say it back unless she gave him a reason to. There was no reason to guard herself like she had before. He was different and this was different. Better. Better than a lot of what she had been through before….

And this was moving forward.

And also she really, really, really needed a new air conditioner.


	42. Summer Festival

Last summer it had just been her and Mob at the festival.

It had been a good time. Fried food, catching goldfish, watching the fireworks, all of the usual summer festival fair. That was last year. This year was different. Mob had friends, and a boyfriend, so of course she wouldn't want to spend it with Reigen. That was fine. Reigen was not going get all upset over that. Not again. Mob had a life now and Reigen was not going to keep her from it. Of course Mob would rather have gone to the festival with her friends and her boyfriend. That was fine.

Really, it was.

Besides, it wasn't like Reigen was going to be all alone. No. That would have been truly tragic. Reigen had someone to spend this festival with. She hadn't spent a summer festival with someone who wasn't Mob in years. Reigen wasn't bothered. Mob had someone and she had someone and that was just how these things went. Yes, that was just how these things went.

She stood a little closer to Serizawa.

He was nervous. She didn't blame him for being nervous. This was his first summer festival period. He said, before, that he hadn't been to one of these since he was a kid. He had only gone with his mom, too, and even back then large crowds had been overwhelming for him. Maybe she shouldn't have dragged him to this thing. He had been the one to suggest that they go, the kids had been talking about it nonstop, and he had asked her later on if she was planning on going. The kids had asked her too but she, as much as she wanted to go with them, did not want to stick around Mob and the others while they tried of have middle/high school fun.

"Um….do you want to…um…." Said Serizawa. He was a little nervous. It was just….a lot of people. A lot of people but she was there and usually she made him feel better, and she did, but also she was there and she looked so pretty then and maybe he should have dressed a little nicer too and she probably thought that he looked terrible and she wanted to be with someone who dressed nicer and didn't get scared by crowds and-

"Yes?" asked Reigen

"D-Do you want to…to…" said Serizawa. He had done his research. Well not so much research as watching all of the summer festival episodes of the shows that Miss Kurosaki recommended. Mob let him borrow some manga. Miss Kurata just told him to wing it. He was nervous enough even with all the prep work he had done. It wasn't like he hadn't ever been to a summer festival before….he had just never gone to a summer festival before with someone other than his mother. He had never gone with someone he liked before…with a girlfriend before. He was nervous. He was somehow even more nervous than Sho…and Sho had woken him up at one in the morning to tell him how nervous he was. Maybe he should have just taken Sho up on his double date idea…or not because the only thing worse than being this nervous about going on a date with his girlfriend was going on a double date with two middle schoolers because he was too nervous to go on a date on his own with his girlfriend.

"I'm up for anything!" said Reigen maybe a little too enthusiastically. She was getting looks, now, and not just because this was a new yukata. She blushed and looked down at their feet. She was in wooden sandals. He was in his usual shoes. He hadn't gotten all dressed up for this. Maybe she was overdressed. Maybe she should have just dressed normal, she wasn't one of the kids to get all dressed up…maybe she was over dressed…or something. Maybe she was just nervous. She didn't know why she was nervous. She'd gone on dates with him before. They were grown adults on a date. This was normal. There was nothing about this that was even a little bit abnormal.

"Me too! I mean I'll do whatever you want to do! I mean…not to put everything on you, of course, I just know that you've been to more of these than me. I mean I've been to summer festivals before. I know what to do…and I've been watching a lot of TV and reading a lot of manga….not that I expect this to be like that! I mean I know that there's a difference between anime and reality and-" said Serizawa

"Serizawa?" asked Reigen. She took his hand. She knew how he got sometimes. He was running himself in circles. He was so…him…sometimes. So nervous. So adorably nervous. She decided to save him.

"Yes?" asked Serizawa. She was holding his hand. He was almost thirty years old and holding her hand still….this was still so nice. He'd kissed her before but this was still nice. Her hand was so soft even though she threw salt around every day. Her hand was so soft and she was so…so pretty…and he held her hand back. She grounded him. She grounded him like his umbrella only without the connection to Suzuki…and also she was alive…and she liked him….

"Wanna get something deep fried and bad for us?" asked Reigen. She could smell it, takoyaki, and it called to her. They couldn't just lurk here all night, anyway, so why not just go and get something delicious and non-nutritious?

"S-Sure!" said Serizawa. She was good at that, snapping him out of it, and grounding him. She always knew just what to say and just what to do. She still held his hand. She held his hand as they made their way to the takoyaki stand. She made a beeline for it. She was good at that, finding food, she always seemed to know just where her favorites were. She once led him three blocks out of their way when they were out on a job because there had been a takoyaki stand.

She was so…so….

He didn't even have words for it. The way she made him feel. Cute. That was a word he could apply to her. The way she kept on dropping her takoyaki. He caught them for her and spun them so they cooled down. He'd seen Mob do this for her. She couldn't wait long enough for them to cool down. That was cute. She got sauce on her face. That was cute, too, even though he knew that he shouldn't have liked it, how messy she was.

He didn't care.

He liked her. He liked her even though she was messy. Hell, he liked her BECAUSE she was messy. She was just so…free….in so many ways. He always turned himself upside-down and inside out trying to fit in, to be like everyone else…and she was just herself. She was just so perfectly, confidently, herself. She always knew just what to say and just what to do…and he didn't. He wondered if that ever got tiring or her. He wondered if she ever wanted to be with someone who didn't stutter or knew how to make a good cup of tea or who didn't get nervous at the store when he couldn't bag his groceries fast enough….not that they had been to the store together. Not that he even should have been thinking about going to the store. Why did his mind go there? What as with him?

"Um…is it good?" asked Serizawa. Takoyaki. She liked takoyaki…and she was eating it…so of course it was good. Why was he saying such stupid stuff? She probably thought that he was…negative self-talk. He needed to knock off all the negative self-talk. She was there with him and she wanted to be with him. She would not have been with him if she hadn't wanted to be there with him…she could have easily been there with someone else…and that was more negative self-talk.

"It's pretty good. I could have gotten us, though, you didn't have to…not that I don't appreciate it! I do. Thank you, I love it." Said Reigen. She ate quickly. God, why couldn't she just shut up?

"I'm glad. Um…are you-" said Serizawa

"Are you going to eat that?" asked Reigen. She had maybe been way too enthusiastic about this. She just really liked takoyaki…and she was such a kid sometimes. Maybe she should have just hung out with Mob and the others. Heh. She would have fit right in with those three. She was such a kid…interrupting people….

"Here, you can have it." Said Serizawa. He handed her what was left of his takoyaki. He couldn't eat anymore. He was too nervous. It was too crowded, which was a lot, and also he was out with her…which made him nervous at the best of times. He knew she liked him, he knew that she would tell him if she ever stopped liking him, and he just…couldn't stop with all the negative self-talk.

"Thanks." Said Reigen. She ate when she was nervous. She fidgeted when she was nervous. She fidgeted and ate at the same time…and fidgeted too much…

"Careful!" said Serizawa. She had been balancing her food on her knees and then it had tipped over…and he hadn't even had time to think. He just caught it with his powers….as best as he could. She still ended up with a glob of takoayki sauce right on her yukata…

"Shit!" said Reigen as she stood up. Why did she have to get a pink one? She could have gone with a darker color but no…and now she had to walk around like this and he probably thought that she was…and now for some reason she could hear her mother's voice in her head telling her that she was messy and sloppy and would die alone…and that was probably something she needed to speak to a professional about….

"Sorry! If I hadn't given you mine then-" said Serizawa

"It's not your fault, it's mine. Don't worry, it's just a little stain. I'll just…go to the bathroom and take care of it." Said Reigen. She knew that it would be futile but she just needed a moment to…collect herself. Collect herself and not run away…and she didn't know why she even thought about doing that. Sometimes you had to run away, true, but this was not one of those times. She was fine. This was fine.

She was fine.

She just….needed space. She needed some space to…to think. This was…this was not a lot. This was just a date. This was just a date and she had gone on more dates than she could even remember. Hell, she had gone on plenty of dates with him before this! Not that…not that their dates had always been so very….date-like. They went out after work but that was…convenient. This was…dates were dates!

She was fine.

She was not hiding in the bathroom. She had gone to the bathroom to fix her yukata. She was not hiding. She was just…cleaning off her yukata with lukewarm tap water and cheap foaming hand soap. She was not hiding. She was not hiding or…or anything like that. She was just…busy. That was all. Legitimacy busy!

"What are you doing!?" Reigen jumped back and almost tripped over her own feet as the bathroom door was kicked opened.

"I'm not hiding! You can't prove anything!" shouted Reigen reflexively. She reachedinto her pockets for salt…and found neither pockets nor salt. Because she was wearing a yukata. She did, however, succeed in hitting herself over the head with her bag and in scattering the contents across the bathroom floor. Great.

"Yes you are but I don't have time to worry about that now. Rei! I know you're in here! Just come out already! It's not that bad!" said Tome. Yeah, Reigen was there, that was fine. She'd go digging around into Reigen's business later. Right now she had to knock some sense into Rei!

"What's going on?" asked Reigen as she collected the various bits and bobs she carried around with her. As she crawled across the bathroom floor on her hands and knees, and she knew that she would probably catch some terrible public bathroom disease, when she saw someone sitting on the floor of the handicapped stall. Presumably Rei.

This was great!

Well, no, not really. First of all Rei should not have been sitting on the floor of a public bathroom like that and second of all something must have really been bothering her. She had been raving about the festival last Reigen had heard. She had a detailed itinerary on a Google doc that Reigen had been added to for reasons she could not understand. Something must have gone wrong….poor kid…

This looked like a job for Reigen!

"Nothing. Rei's just being dramatic." Said Tome with a wave of her hand.

"I am not! I am not being dramatic! My life is over! My life is over and I have to live in this bathroom!" said Rei. She could see the future and it was bleak. It was bleak and there was nothing in it for her.

"Uh-huh. What are you going to eat?" asked Tome

"Um….snacks from my bg." Said Rei

"Ok, sure…and what are you going to drink?" asked Tome

"There's water in a bathroom! That's the point of a bathroom." Said Rei

"You're seriously going to drink from the taps at a public bathroom?" asked Tome

"…..if I have to." Said Rei

"Rei, no, don't drink the water." Said Reigen with a groan. She got off her hands and knees and sat down. She stretched her legs out so they were parallel to Rei's. Heh. She pulled her legs up to her chest. Reigen wondered who designed public bathrooms. She knew that the gap between the door and the floor was there in case someone passed out or something but this seemed like an excessively large gap. Maybe the shrine could use the money from this festival to get new bathroom doors…and better locks for the front bathroom door. Then maybe this bathroom would have been easier to hide in…not that she had been hiding or anything like that.

"Why not? It's clean water. It's not like I'm drinking toilet water or anything." Said Rei

"Will you just come out of the bathroom already?!" said Tome

"Why should I?!" said Rei

"Because you're talking about drinking toilet water!" said Tome

"Guys-" said Reigen. She could feel a headache coming on…but that was ok. Helping weird and over dramatic kids was ninety percent of her job. She was helping them out of the goodness of her heart and not out of any desire to avoid her boyfriend because this was a lot and she couldn't think or breathe or…nope. This had nothing to do with that.

"No! I said that I wasn't going to drink it! And I am not coming out anyway! There's nothing out there for me anymore!" shouted Rei

"Rei, come on. There's plenty out there for you." Said Reigen

"Like what?" asked Rei with a sniffle

"Hanazawa's catching pretty much all the goldfish. You wanna see how many he catches before Mob tells him to stop?" asked Tome

"No…I don't want to see Mob and Teru being happy together…that's the past thing I want to see!" said Rei. That was the last thing she wanted. They were supposed to go together the three of them. It would have been four but Reigen was on a date…and also an adult even though it was hard to remember that sometimes…and now it was two because Mob was going to go off with her boyfriend…and then it would be one because Tome was going to probably go and hang out with her boyfriend…and she had no one! And it wasn't fair!

"You sure? He was up to ten before Suzuki came over to tell him that keeping goldfish was cruel or something." Said Tome

"It kind of is. You know they need-" said Reigen

"Yeah yeah, yeah…they can't live in plastic. I heard Suzuki's speech." Said Tome

"There's nothing out there for me!" shouted Rei

"Hey Rei, you want to come out of there and talk about this life ending cataclysm?" said Reigen. She was still on the floor. She really wanted to get up off the floor. She couldn't, though, until Rei did…which she showed no sign of getting anywhere near the point of.

"No! I don't want to talk about it!" shouted Rei. Why couldn't people just let her hide in the bathroom in peace! You weren't supposed to bother people in the bathroom! What happened to basic privacy!?

"Her plan to avoid Mob's little brother for the rest of her life isn't going so well." Said Tome with a shrug. She didn't get it. Middle schoolers were so weird sometimes. She couldn't believe that she was ever that young.

"That's why you're hiding in the bathroom? Because you ran into Mob's little brother?" asked Reigen. She shook her head. Kids. Everything was always such a big deal to them. You didn't catch Reigen acting like this. Nope. Not at all.

"No…" said Rei

"She is. I don't know what's with her and that guy. I mean he's cute but he's also a jerk. Also he's gay so, you know, there's that." Said Tome

"I know he is! He made that perfectly clear…and…and…" said Rei

"So you're hiding in this bathroom because you're still embarrassed about confessing to him? Rei, that was months ago-" said Reigen

"I don't want to talk about it!" shouted Rei. She really didn't want to talk about the worst day of her life. She liked him, she had really liked him, and she still liked him to this day. Not just because he was smart and cute and knew the impotance of good grooming but there was also the whole life saving thing, too. She had almost gotten kidnapped and he had saved her and she had almost died, too, back when

"Well you're hiding in here too." Said Rei

"No I'm not!" said Reigen.

"What is it about this bathroom that everyone has to hide in it!?" shouted Tome

"I am not hiding! I just had to get this stain out of my yukata-" said Rei

"You're wearing a yukata?" said Rei with a sniffle.

"Yeah, a new one. I'm not sure if it's working for me though." said Reigen slyly. Some shuffling could be heard as Rei stood up. Reigen stood up too. Maybe a bit more slowly than she should have at her age. Well now she had two things to worry about.

"For the love of….please, beam me up now…" said Tome. Rei had such a one track mind sometimes. Honestly. She hoped that no higher beings from beyond their star were listening to this. Rei could not be the best example of humanity that they heard. She needed to get back on her roof when she got home to counteract this.

"It's too summery and the hem is too long." Said Rei

"You sure you got a good enough look from in there?" asked Reigen. There was more shuffling before the stall door opened. Rei stood there rubbing her eyes with her yukata sleeve. She looked so adorable. So did Tome and Mob too, probably….not that she would ever call them adorable to their faces. Well Mob, maybe, because nothing pissed Mob off….most nothing pissed Mob off.

"You're not a summer. Even if it is a summer festival your clothes are too summery. Also there's a stain on the front of your yukata and I don't think that you can rise that out with just water." Said Rei

"Thanks-" said Reigen. Right. She still had to do something about this…not that there was anything that she could do now. Maybe she should have just given up and gone home…no. She was not going to do that to Serizawa. He had been really looking forward to this. Well it seemed like he had. He always liked going out with her…and he had a lot of going out to catch up on…and she was just being selfish. She was just being all weird, this trapped sort of feeling she had been getting. That was just her being….her.

"Ok, good, now come on before Mob goes off with Hanazawa." Said Tome. She grabbed Rei by the hand but she pulled away and shook her head.

"I don't want to go out there." said Rei

"Well you can't stay in here. It's disgusting." Said Tome

"I-I know that I can't live here but…but I don't want to go out there." said Rei softly. She held her hands close to herself. Her bag was slung over her arm. She was maybe trying to hide behind it…maybe. She didn't know. All she knew was that she could not go out there.

"Why not? Come on, I know that what happened was awkward but-" said Reigen

"No, it's not about that. Well it is. It's just…I like him a lot but he'll never like me back…and I know that I should just move on and like someone else but…but I don't know if I can. He's so smart and nice, even with how I was he's still nice to me, and he saved my life…twice…and…" said Rei

"It's hard. It's hard because you're thirteen and it's hard because you've been through some stuff, some really messed up stuff, that no thirteen year old should have to go through. You went through it with him and, yeah, that made a lot of feelings that you already had pretty intense. It's hard, nobody's going to tell you otherwise, and you should kick anyone's ass who tries to tell you otherwise." Said Reigen

"So then…it's ok for me to stay in here forever?" asked Rei

"No way! This is a public bathroom!" said Tome. She wondered if she could just drag Rei out. She was strong…strong-ish. She could maybe pick Rei up and carry her away…maybe….probably not.

"Tome's right, you can't stay in here. Sometimes you have to run away but…but this is not one of those times. Feelings suck sometimes, they really suck, but you can't just hide from them." Said Reigen

"You were hiding." Said Rei

"No….I was cleaning off my yukata…and like you said there's no way to get this stain out with just water so I'll just be heading out now…and I hope you'll head out with me." Said Reigen

"I…I don't…know…." said Rei

"Whatever's happening out there has got to be more fun thank hanging out in here." Said Tome

"Come on, before all the goldfish are gone. Who knew Haystack had skills like that. Well I guess psychic powers make it easier." Said Reigen

"That little cheater…." Muttered Tome

"I don't think he's using his powers. Mob would have told him not to. She's pretty happy actually…she gets kind of weird when she's with him…kind of like how you get when you're with Serizawa." Said Rei. Reigen was about to tell her that she did not get weird when she was with Serizawa…but that was a blatant lie and she was done lying to kids who looked up to her. No lies were told, but steps were had, out of the bathroom and back to the festival.

The walk from the bathroom was not a long one. Finding Serizawa again was easy, too, she just had to follow the sound of shouting. Not him shouting, no, if anything he looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die as he was trapped between two shouting teenagers. Mob waved as Reigen approached.

"Master! Hi! Um…do you want a goldfish? Or two? Also is keeping a goldfish a pet cruel? Sho says-" said Mob. Thank God, Master Reigen was there. She could solve this. She didn't want to disagree with Teru or Sho…and she also didn't want all of these goldfish. She didn't know why Teru kept on winning them for her. She assumed that he was just going to put them back. That was what she and Master Reigen did after what happened the one and only time they had tried to keep a fish in the office….that poor little fish….

"Mob…why do you have so many fish?" asked Reigen. That was…a lot of fish. A lot of fish for one kid…so many that she was holding them with her powers. So many that they almost distracted from her yukata. Mob used to have a pink one…but she had outgrown that…or maybe she just wanted a cheddar orange and steel grey one…like Haystack's….and that was just too cute. She had to take a picture.

"Teru won them." Said Mob simply

"And he's got to let them go in the ocean! Fish can't live in plastic!" shouted Sho. He saw Ritsu shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. It would have been nice to have had a little back up. Those poor little fish were suffering for no reason!

"Sho…let it go. Just let it go." Said Ritsu. He would have sided with Sho if he weren't being so ridiculous. Those were just goldfish…and also they ate fish…and also he was not in the mood to fight with anyone. He had done enough fighting, before, to last him a lifetime.

"I will as soon as he lets them go in the ocean." Said Sho

"B-But we're nowhere near the ocean…" said Serizawa. This had gone downhill fast. All he had done was say hi to Sho and Ritsu…and then Mob and her boyfriend passed by looking for Miss Kurosaki…and then somehow it had turned into a shouting match over fish. Thank God Miss Reigen came back from the bathroom in time. She could settle this. The kids always listened….mostly listened to her.

"We'll fly then." Said Sho

"These are freshwater fish! And they're mine…my girlfriend's. They're my girlfriend's fish and if my girlfriend wants fifteen goldfish then my girlfriend can have fifteen goldfish." Said Teru

"Don' say girlfriend so much, you'll give Mob's little brother a heart attack." Said Tome

"I'm fine…" said Ritsu through gritted teeth. He told himself over and over again in his mind that Hanazawa was a good guy. He was a good guy and Shigeko liked him and she wouldn't have liked him if he were still the jerk that beat her up when they met…and if he ever were to turn back into that jerk then Ritsu was strong enough to get rid of him…if it came to that which it probably would not have.

"Nobody needs fifteen fish!" said Sho

"What if you were planning on eating them….not that you're supposed to eat goldfish…but you are getting kind of worked up…and they are just fish. You eat fish all the time, Sho, I saw you eating fish yesterday. What's the difference between the fish you eat and the ones you win at a festival?" asked Serizawa…though based on the glare that he was getting he may have said the wrong thing. He took a step back and bumped into Miss Reigen. She took his hand in hers.

"Hey! Serizawa, whose side are you on anyway?" asked Sho

"There are no sides." Said Reigen. She was about to take the fish and set them free in the pond at the park herself…but that would have been a bad idea since carp ate a lot and reproduced quickly. They'd overrun the ecosystem of the pond quickly. She knew. She had tried the same thing when she had been young.

"I'm on Mob's side. If she wants fifteen fish then she can have fifteen fish. It's a free country." Said Tome

"There. See, you're being ridiculous. If my girlfriend wants fifteen goldfish-" said Teru

"But I don't want fifteen goldfish. I didn't want to say anything because you were having so much fun winning them but…but I don't even think that I can take care of fifteen fish. Me and Master Reigen tried taking care of a fish once…and it didn't end well…" said Mob

"Rest in peace Mr. Swimmy. We hardly knew ye." Said Reigen as she mimed taking off a hat. She eyed Mob's fish…and they did not look like they were long for this world.

"There, she doesn't even want them. How about I just let then go in the ocean-" said Sho. He took a step forward but was stopped by Ritsu. He held his hand tight and shook his head.

"Those are freshwater fish, Sho, they'll die. We can let them go at the pond in the park. How about that?" asked Ritsu. He knew that there was no changing Sho's mind when he got like this. That was something he both loved and didn't love about him. No that he didn't love him, of course he did, but sometimes he could be a little much. Sometimes they could both be a little much. That was why he was going to let fifteen fish go in the pond at the park even though he knew that it would mess up the ecosystem. The things he did for love.

"That's a good plan, brother, here you go. Please make sure that they have a good home." Said Mob as she passed Ritsu the fish with her powers. Winning the fish was the fun part, really, and she felt bad because Teru had worked hard to win them for her…but he had also won her a lot of other stuff. He was always getting her stuff, that was just his love language according to an article she'd read online, and her love language was telling him how much she loved him. Though she might have miscalculated based on the weird, kind of upset, sound that Teru was making.

"Well you guys have fun with that. Come on, Serizawa, let's go watch some fireworks or something. See you guys later! Have fun! But not too much fun." Said Reigen. She waved as she walked away. Rei, who had been hiding behind her, practically ran to Mob's side. Reigen laughed a little as she led Serizawa to the patch of grass that provided the best view for fireworks.

"Thank you for saving me….I mean them….I mean-" said Serizawa as they sat down on the grass. She leaned into him and it took him a moment to put his arm around her. He froze, sometimes, and he just did not know why. He liked her a lot. He had no reason to be like that….but there he was…frozen beside her. His girlfriend who had done nothing but he wonderful to him…

"I know what you mean, and no thanks necessary." Said Reigen. She sighed as she leaned into him. This was better. Easier. Fewer people around…and she had no idea what it meant that she could only relax when they were alone. Maybe she was just still afraid of the whole relationship thing. Maybe she just had commitment issues. Or maybe she had just been so in her element, before, that she could finally relax. What did it say about her that she could only relax when she was involved in other people's problems? She didn't know. She didn't want to think about this. She only wanted to think about him.

"O-Ok." Said Serizawa. She was resting against him…and she was so warm. He was so warm. This whole…this whole thing was so warm. Because it was summer. It was warm and sticky…or maybe that was just him. She was so close. She was close enough that he could have kissed her if he wanted to…which he did…

So he did.

He kissed the top of her head. She giggled, the most wonderful sound in the world, and then she leaned up and kissed him properly. Fireworks went off…wait, those were real fireworks….well it felt like they were going off inside of him, too. That was how he always felt when they kissed. There was nothing better than kissing her….

"Hey Serizawa?" asked Reigen. She broke apart from him and rested her head in the space between his head and his shoulder. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. The world was him and her, in that moment, and that was just how she wanted it. Him and her together. The world around them exploding away in a shower of color that she could not see. She didn't care. She'd spent she didn't even know how long watching fireworks over the course of her lifetime but she had spent precious few minutes this close to him.

"Y-Yes?" asked Serizawa, his voice hitting an octave that he hadn't even known that he was capable of. He closed his eyes and just…felt. Her. There. Beside him. He hadn't seen that many fireworks in his life but being near her…that was better than any fireworks he had ever seen.

"You're great, you know that? You're just…great." Said Reigen softly. She could feel his stubble against her head. One of his hands was resting against her back, now, and the other held hers. This was perfect. If they weren't in public…but they were in public….and even if they were alone she would not have done anything that was on her mind…

He wasn't ready….and neither was she, to be honest. Not with him. Not yet.

"So are you." Said Serizawa. He regrets closing his eyes. With his eyes closed he could only picture…things that he should not have been thinking about. Not then, out in public, with her so near. He cared so much about her…and he wanted….so much with her….but she had no idea if it was a good idea to even ask.

That was a lot.

So was this…but he was ready for this.


	43. Don't Look

No amount of time or therapy would ever make this ok.

Not that Mob was currently seeing a therapist…but maybe she needed one now. Maybe she should have asked Serizawa for the name and number of his. She seemed like she did good work. Serizawa was doing a lot better than when she met him. He wore clothes besides pajamas and took showers every day and had a job and real friends and a girlfriend…

And no amount of therapy would ever make this ok.

"Serizawa!" said Master Reigen. Mob wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to plug her ears. She wished that she had never seen what it was that she was hearing or seen what it was that she was seeing.

"Sorry! Want me to stop?" asked Serizawa as he took his hand away from….where his hand had been…and Mob did not want to look at where his hand had been. Right there in Master Reigen's shirt right above her bra…and for some reason Mob was wondering why Master Reigen wore a bra like that. It seemed kind of itchy with all of that lace.

Mob wanted to close her eyes.

Because she should not have been seeing what it was that she was seeing. Master Reigen's shirt was opened and her undershirt thing…it was silk and nothing like the undershirts that Mob wore…it was pulled down to the side and Mob should not have been seeing that. This was not for her eyes. This was not like changing in a locker room or going to an onsen. Those were times when she could have reasonably been expecting to see Master Reigen naked-ish…not that there had ever been a time when Mob could have expected to see Master Reigen in any state of not being dressed….

"No, that was good. This is…this is good." Said Master Reigen. Mob wished that her body was listening to her. It wasn't listening to her and neither were her powers…kind of like the time when she walked in on Ritsu and Sho when they were kissing….and maybe Mob needed to learn to knock. Yes, that was it. Even though she worked here and she'd never had to knock before…

She really should have knocked.

"Are you sure? Because I can stop whenever you want to. I don't want to push you into doing anything or-" said Serizawa. Ok, so all boys were like that, not just Teru. Not that she and Teru had ever done more than kissing. Well they had kissed like that before…and also he had touched her there before…and then he had spent the whole time saying that he was sorry for pushing her. Then it was like they had taken a whole step back…or maybe two or three. It was nice to know that all boys were like that, even ones as old as Serizawa. She just wished that she had learned this fact about boys in some other way…because this was not something that was meant for her to be standing there in the doorway witnessing.

She hoped that they didn't notice her.

She was in the doorway. The door was opened a crack. It was opened just enough that she could see what it was that she was seeing. She had frozen when the door opened wide enough for her to see inside. She had frozen, there, in horror. Not even her powers would work…though that was a good thing. This was not the time or place to explode. If she exploded there then Master Reigen and Serizawa would have noticed her and then she would have had to run away and hide for the rest of her life. Really, there was nothing at all else that she could have done if she ended up exploding and then got caught.

"Serizawa, come on. You know I like this. I liked it last time and I like it now. Ok? I'll tell you if you do something that I don't like." Said Master Reigen. Mob had said almost those exact words to Teru, before, and not frustration cuts through the horror. She was going to have to tell Teru that she was ok with him kissing her and all of the other stuff for the rest of their lives.

Well then.

She didn't want to have to tell Teru over and over again while they were kissing that she was ok with kissing him. He got worried, sometimes, that he was pushing her too far even though she was the one to ask him to kiss her like that. It was like Master Reigen had told her, communication was key in a relationship, though Mob was notoriously bad at it. But it wasn't her if Master Reigen was having the same problem she was. This was just what boys were like it seemed. They always worried about scaring you away even though you wanted to kiss them…

Boys were frustrating at any age it seemed.

"I-I know but that was then and this is now. Also I just thought that you might have been more comfortable before because we were in your apartment and this is…our work….and also I don't want to make you uncomfortable and-" said Serizawa

"I'm fine. I mean, yeah, I'm a little nervous to be doing this at work but it's after hours and that door's locked, right?" asked Master Reigen. Mob felt her heart stop. That door most certainly had not been locked. If the door had been locked then Mob would have gotten out her key to open it and if she had gotten her key out then Master Reigen and Serizawa would have heard the sound of them clacking together and if they had heard the sound of Mob's keys clacking together then they would have stopped and everything would have been normal.

This was not normal.

This was terrifying.

"I-I'm not sure if-" said Serizawa as he began to turn around. Mob stopped breathing. Her heart even stopped beating. She could feel herself sweating through her clothes even though Master Reigen had the air conditioner going so loud that it made the windows rattle. Mob was grateful that the air conditioner was that loud. It covered the sound of her heart beating. It had remembered how to beat and it was making up for lost time. She felt her body tense up. She had to run away.

But she couldn't. She was stuck in place like quicksand.

She wished that her body would just listen to her. She wanted to run away screaming. She was screaming, on the inside, and her aura was screaming on the outside. Her aura was so bright because she was all freaked out but Serizawa didn't notice. He was too into what he and Master Reigen were doing….which was actually a good thing. Mob had no idea how she was supposed to explain herself. She hadn't set out to see this.

She had just wanted to see if Master Reigen and Serizawa were still at work.

Well she had been sent to see if they were still at work when neither of them answered their texts. She, Rei, and Tome were going in one on of the big prizes at the arcade. The giant cat plush toy that was big enough to use as a pillow or even a beanbag chair. They were low on money and needed more tickets than they could have conceivably earned. It was Tome's idea to invite Serizawa, he liked arcades, and they had to invite Master Reigen because otherwise she would have felt left out.

Mob really wished that she had been left out of this.

Because she was going to go blind. That was the only thing that was going to come of seeing this. They were kissing again. All open mouths and smacking noises…and also touching. A lot of touching. Master Reigen had one of her hands in Serizawa's hair and the other one was on his chest…and now at least Serizawa wasn't touching her…and all Mob needed to do was run away….

Come on feet, move.

"Katsuya, get back over here and kiss me. I've been thinking about this all day. Come back here." Said Master Reigen. She reached over and put her hand on Serizawa's cheek. She turned him to face her and then she leaned in and kissed him. There was lipstick on him, on his face and neck, and Mob didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She did not want to see this….but she was also grateful that they had gone back to kissing. Better that they started kissing again than they went to check the door, something that they both should have checked before they started kissing, and noticed her.

You were always supposed to check before you started kissing.

Tome had taught her that. Mob didn't always knock. Sometimes she came into the clubroom after everyone left to see if Tome wanted to hang out. Sometimes she would come in and Tome would be in there with Inukawa and Inukawa would be all red and Tome would tell Mob to go away…and Mob should have learned to knock back then. Tome had taught her to make sure that she was alone and that everyone was gone, even Mob who apparently was very quiet when she moved, or else she'd get caught.

She and Teru hardly ever got caught.

They also hardly ever kissed. Mob was maybe a little bit…jealous. She was a little bit jealous that Master Reigen…and that made no sense. Master Reigen had the same problems that she had, Mob had heard her and Serizawa loud and clear, so Mob shouldn't have been jealous…but she kind of was. Teru always apologized after they had been kissing for a while. Mob didn't care that he'd had other girlfriends before her.

Well she sort of did.

Because he had wanted to kiss those girls but not her. He always said that he was sorry about how he used to be and he was always telling her that he would never treat her like that….no matter how many times she told him that she wanted to kiss and wouldn't mind at all if he wanted to do all of that stuff that came after kissing. The sort of stuff that Master Reigen had done before…because she was an adult and that was what adults did. Master Reigen and Serizawa probably did that sort of stuff all the time….

Oh no.

And if they started to do that then Mob knew that she would go blind and deaf and then crazy. Or maybe she would just get hysterical amnesia like in that movie about the lady who saw a murder and then got hysterical amnesia and forgot what she had seen and then she ended up getting married to the man who killed the other man and the other man turned out to be her twin brother…

Mob wanted to watch TV.

She wanted to go home and watch TV. Forget the arcade, forget everything. Sometimes you had to run away and this was that time. She knew that if she had been in Master Reigen's place, but not with Serizawa because she didn't like him like that because he was a lot older than her and also she would never steal Master Reigen's boyfriend from her, she would have wanted Master Reigen or whoever else to run away and forget what they had seen.

"Katsuya…'Suya…that's perfect." Said Master Reigen. It was at that point that Mob's feet remembered how to move. She remembered how to lift her feet and how to walk out slowly, she closed the door slowly behind her, and she crept down the stairs as quietly as she could.

She ran as soon as she got to the door.

She wanted to run all the way home but she knew that if she did then her friends would have been upset with her….so she ran all the way to the arcade.

"Mob! Where have you been!?" said Tome. She shook Mob as soon as she ran up to her. Mob let herself be shaken. Anything was better than what she had been through.

"Milk. Please." Said Mob. Tome stopped shaking her and then started staring. As she stared she snapped her fingers in Rei's direction. Rei ran off towards the vending machine and came back with a bottle of plain milk. Mob took it and drank it all at once.

"Mob…are you ok?" asked Rei

"What happened? Arson? Murder? Aliens?" asked Tome. Mob shook her head 'no' as she finished her milk. She finished and then just stood there and caught her breath. They asked her again and again and she wanted to say something…but she wasn't going to. No, she would take this with her to her grave.

"You don't want to know." Said Mob. There was nothing else that she could say. They were her best friends next to Master Reigen. They didn't need to know what she had been witness to. Nobody needed to share in the burden of what she had seen.

No amount of therapy would ever make this ok.


	44. Success

It was freezing.

Which was utterly perfect as far as Reigen Arataki was concerned.

"You guys feel that? That's what success feels like." Said Reigen as she leaned back in her chair.

"It feels cold." Said Mob as she used her powers to hold Master Reigen's chair steady. Sometimes she fell when she tipped back like that. One time one of her shoes flew off and broke a potted plant. Master Reigen had said that it was a sign but of what Mob did not know.

"That's what success feels like Mob! Success is a dish best served cold." Said Reigen as she closed her eyes and let the cold wash over her. It was cold enough that she was back in her blazer as she should have been. She didn't care if this put her and Serizawa deep in the hole…or if they were, hypothetically, to break up he would get half the air conditioner….

However that would work.

Not that they were going to break up. They never fought. They agreed on just about everything….and maybe that was too much, too. Maybe they needed to start disagreeing and having arguments. What did that say about her as a person that she needed to be with someone who agreed with everything she said and did whatever she wanted to do? Maybe she was just self-centered and-

And that was negative self-talk.

"Isn't that revenge?" asked Mob. She had heard that revenge was a dish best served cold. She didn't know what that meant, she didn't have anyone that she wanted to get revenge on, but she had heard that before.

"Yes, revenge too but there's nobody that we want to get revenge on so we're going to call the feel of cold air on demand success." Said Reigen

"It feels like it's drying out my skin." Said Rei as she looked up from the paper she was cutting. Snowflakes. That was what she was going to make. She was going to fill this room with snowflakes because it was cold enough to snow. Inside at least. Outside it was so hot that even the birds had gone quiet. It was not good for anyone's skin. Reigen needed to turn the air down before they all shriveled up like grapes.

"Here, catch." Said Reigen as she took out a bottle of lotion from her desk and tossed it to Rei. Yes, it was kind of dry in there….but dry skin was also the feel of success. Being cold and having dry skin was success.

"Careful." Said Mob. She guided it over to Rei with her powers. She didn't want a repeat of the last time Master Reigen had tossed a bottle of lotion across the room. Though it had been cool when it exploded, Mob had to agree with Tome on that, but the office also had smelled like grapefruit for way too long, Mob had to agree with Serizawa on that. Well she would have if he had been there. He was off visiting his mom again. Mob wondered if Master Reigen was sad. Mob was always sad when Teru was too busy to see her….well not always but a lot of the time.

"Thanks." Said Rei. She turned it over and read the bottle. Yuck. Parabens.

"What's with that face?" asked Reigen as Rei made a face that was somewhere between stepping on a thumbtack and getting a burnt French fry. It was actually kind of adorable. If Reigen had to pick a most adorable kid it would have been a tie between Mob and Rei. Not that she was picking favorites or anything like that.

"This has parabens in it. Sorry, it's nothing against you." Said Rei as she tossed it back.

"What the hell is a 'paraben'?" asked Tome. She wondered how Rei had managed to survive this long. She was too afraid of stuff. Petroleum. Parfum, which was somehow different from perfume. Getting in the sun. Not getting enough sun. Pretty much everything that there was in the world Rei would find a reason to be afraid of it much to Tome's confusion. Life was to live!

"I don't know but I know that they're bad for me." Said Rei

"I looked it up. It says that they cause cancer." Said Mob as she held up her phone for everyone to see. Master Reigen held her lotion bottle between two fingers and then threw it away. She shook her head and wiped her hand on her shirt even though she could have messed it up. Mom was always mad at her when she messed up her clothes. Master Reigen was so lucky to be an adult. She could do whatever she wanted. She could even turn the air conditioner up full blast even though that must have been really bad for the electric bill and also the environment. Mom and dad only let her and Ritsu turn the air conditioner on at night to save money. Maybe her parents just weren't as successful as Master Reigen was.

"Well the feeling of success certainly isn't cancerous lotion." Said Reigen with a shudder. Well then. It was nice to know that she had been slowly killing herself with lotion. Maybe the damaging effects of parabens were stacking with the damaging effects of smoking and she wasn't long for this world. It certainly felt like it.

Well it did, anyway, when she looked across the room towards his empty desk.

He had gone to visit his mother again. If someone had asked Reigen's unfiltered opinion it was that his mother was a terribly needy woman. Not that anyone had been asking her for her opinion…and not that she would have said that if she had even been asked. Serizawa's mother loved him and he loved her and that was why he kept running the moment she called. She missed him, she said, which made sense since she had spent fifteen years with him right there in the house.

Reigen could sort of see why some women didn't get along with their mother in laws.

"Nah, it does. Everyone knows that the best things are bad for you. The universe doesn't reward happiness because all the things that make you happy end up getting you in trouble or killing you or something." Said Tome with a shrug. She was getting philosophical in her old age. Sometime she wondered why the universe punished happiness and pleasure and rewarded boring hard work and conformity. Was this what life was going to be from now on? Just doing the same things as everyone else in an effort to be just like everyone else and live like everyone else and die like everyone else and then get exorcised by Mob or some other psychic like everyone else?

"What did you do?" asked Reigen. She went through everything that Tome could have done wrong in her mind. She made a mental note to check the petty cash box in case she had to bail Tome out of jail or pay someone to be quiet. Hopefully it was just something simple like trespassing again….

"Nothing!" said Tome. Why did everyone always assume that she had done something wrong? She hadn't done anything….lately. She was going into high school now, she was beyond such childish rule breaking.

"But what about the time you go caught on your neighbor's roof with your telescope?" asked Mob

"Also didn't your mom catch you sneaking out again?" said Rei

"That's not what I mean." Said Tome

"What did you mean? I don't understand." Said Mob. She could say that to her friends, that she didn't understand, and they would always explain to her what it was that she had missed and they never made fun of her or anything. She was so happy to have friends.

"I just meant that it feels like when you do whatever you want, whatever makes you happy, you end up paying for it later but if you do what you're supposed to do, what other people tell you that you're supposed to do, then you get rewarded even if you're bored or it's not what you want to do. Success comes from conformity…and it's not fair." Said Tome

"High school's hitting you hard, huh?" asked Reigen. It was like looking back at a younger her. Back when she had been about that age it had hit her that her life was on a track. School, a job, marriage, and a family just like everyone else's life. She would be a drop in a sea of people all flowing the same way towards the same goal. What someone else described as success. That was when she had decided that she was going to be somebody.

"But it's still summer. School doesn't start again for weeks." Said Mob

"Yeah, and what sucks about high school? You get to wear a new uniform and you get to be older and you get to meet new guys and-" said Rei

"There's more to life than guys, Rei." Said Tome with a huff.

"Hey, none of that. We all have different priorities." Said Reigen. She omitted the fact that Rei maybe needed to get her priorities in order. She was thirteen years old, almost fourteen, and she would never be that hormonal again in her entire life…but somebody needed to tell her that there was more to life than boys. That person would probably end up being Reigen one of these days.

"It feels like we're all supposed to have the same priorities…and it sucks." said Tome

"We don't all have to have the exact same priorities. I mean we all have to go to school and stuff but we want different things, too. Like how you want a new lens for your telescope or Rei wants her sister to stop stealing her stuff or I want a cat even though I had a cat for a little bit before my mom found it or how Serizawa and Master Reigen want to get married and have a bunch of babies and-" said Mob

"Wait! What?!" said Reigen. She leaned too far back in her chair and tipped back. Mob caught her, thank God, even though it was her fault that had happened in the first place. Her and her speculations.

"Be careful, you're going to tip over." Said Rei. She had been just a little late to the party. It was Mob's fault. She put the image of Reigen and Serizawa getting married….and Reigen had so many colors she'd look good in…and also weddings in general were great…and Reigen really should have gotten on that. Rei knew that there was more to life than love. There was school and work and stuff like that. Guys were just on her mind a lot. She couldn't help it. It was just like they explained in health class. It was a special time in her life and all of that. What was wrong with wanting to love and be loved in return? She wanted someone to love her just like Mob had someone to love her and Tome had someone to love her and Reigen had someone to love her. What was wrong with that? Everyone wanted something from their life and that was what Rei wanted.

If she could just find someone to love her and if she could love them in return then she would count that as success.

Love was success. You just weren't someone until someone loved you. Like the song said. Having friends was good but you couldn't kiss your friends. Well you could but Rei was not into that. Also friends would leave you, maybe, but if someone loved you then they would never leave you…until they did…and that sucked…

But love still felt like success.

"Thanks Rei, thanks." Said Reigen as she got her bearings. What good was it to have a clairvoyant kid around if they couldn't tell you when you were going to tip over and break your neck or if someone was going to start speculating about your life, about parts of your life that you weren't even ready for, that you-

Breathe, Arataki, breathe.

"You know, Mob, that's the same thing that we're always supposed to be working towards. We have to get good grades so we can get into good schools and meet guys and then get married and have kids and it's the same thing that everyone else is supposed to do and it's like you have no choice because that's what success looks like." Said Tome

"You know, I felt the same way when I was your age." Said Reigen in her best wise Master voice. The same voice that had enraptured Mob all those years ago…and still did if the stars in her eyes were anything to go off of.

"I know how this ends. You realized that everyone was right and you got good grades and went to university and then got a good job and met the love of your life." Said Tome

"Yes….and no. I felt the same way that you did and I vowed that I was going to be somebody." Said Reigen. She decided that she was going to tell an abridged version of the story of her life. Nobody there was old enough for the unabridged director's cut of the life of Reigen Arataki….and she was not old enough to tell that story.

"But you are somebody. You're Master Reigen." Said Mob. She remembered from the press conference, that had been a terrible day, that when Master Reigen was a kid she wanted to be someone. That didn't make any sense, though, because everyone was someone. Nobody was no one. Well she felt like she was no one, no one without her powers, which was why people called her Mob…so maybe it did make sense. She didn't know.

"I wasn't always Master Reigen. Back when I was your age one day I woke up and got into my school uniform and I just thought…so this is it? It felt like my whole life had been planned out for me…and it sort of had. Very overbearing woman, my mother, very overbearing. I decided that I wanted to be someone so I…well I did a lot of things, some of which you are WAY too young to hear about, and some of it you aren't. I barely made it through university and I sort of jumped from job to job for a while before I found this…and the rest is history. My life was my own and if I had just done what I was told I would still have been cutting hair or grooming dogs or selling water coolers. Your life is your own so do whatever you want." Said Reigen

"So we don't have to go to high school?" asked Mob. Well that had been a load off of her mind. They were all going to the same high school and then university and then they would all live together after that and then they would raise their kids together…but that was what she wanted. She was still worried about high school, the work was harder and the people might have been mean…but at least they didn't have to-

"Mob, no, you're going to high school. Everyone goes to high school. Even Serizawa is studying for his equivalency test. High school sucks, well a lot of it sucks, but you have to go to school." Said Reigen

"So then I have to do the same thing as everyone else then…" said Tome

"Ok fine, you can't drop out of school to pursue your passions and whatnot but you can still do whatever you want with your life after you've given yourself some options, ok?" said Reigen

"So then I can be successful like everyone else…" said Tome. Reigen didn't get it. Nobody got it…and she was not being an angsty high schooler! Even if it seemed like she was. Even though she was going to high school and leaving the telepathy club and she still hadn't found any aliens or any of her other goals…

"That's the opposite of success, I think, if you're just doing things because everyone else is doing them. I think that success feels like doing whatever makes you happy." Said Mob. She hoped that Master Reigen was ok. Well she hoped that all of her friends were ok but she especially hoped that Master Reigen was ok. She was best friends with Master Reigen…maybe. Maybe they were all best friends. She didn't know, she hadn't had very many friends before. Now she had this many…and it was so nice. A bunch of friends, a boyfriend, Master Reigen had found the love of her life, Ritsu had found the love of his life…

It had been a good year.

Even if there had been all of that stuff with Claw and also the big fight that she and Master Reigen had. She was so happy to have gotten through all of that stuff to get to where she was now. Maybe this was what success felt like. Being happy almost all the time. Waking up and being happy because you could hang out with your friends or your boyfriend or your friends and your boyfriend at the same time….or just your boyfriend because sometimes you wanted to kiss and stuff and you were not going to do that in front of your friends. Especially not Rei because she was very sad that Ritsu didn't love her back. She really wanted a boyfriend and Mob didn't blame her. It was nice having someone who liked you…and also all the kissing.

Success also felt like kissing.

Maybe that was why Master Reigen and Serizawa kissed so much. Master Reigen couldn't sense auras and Serizawa couldn't sense Mob when he was distracted. That was how Mob had ended up seeing Master Reigen and Serizawa kissing. She hadn't set out to see Master Reigen and Serizawa kissing, she had just wanted to see if they wanted to go to the arcade with her and Rei and Tome, and maybe she should have made more noise when she walked up the stairs or knocked on the door or something.

Because she should not have seen what she saw.

And now she could never un-see it…but she was happy for Master Reigen and Serizawa. She really was! They loved each other and they kissed and nothing felt better than kissing, especially the way that had been kissing, and so Mob was happy for them…even though it had been so weird to see that. Weird and intrusive, like she that was something that was not for her eyes…which made sense because that certainly had not been for her eyes. It didn't matter, she was happy for Master Reigen and Serizawa.

That was what success felt like, being happy and being happy that other people were happy.

"There, see Mob's got it. Now remember it, put it in a book, sell it and get rich and famous. Success is your own personal happiness…and also air conditioning. Hang on, let me turn it up." Said Reigen. She didn't care if she was cold. She didn't care if everyone was cold.

Success was personal happiness and she was happiest when the air conditioner was going full blast.


	45. Pudding

This was not comfortable.

But Mob had to put herself through it. There was nothing else that she could do. Even if it was hot and itchy. Even if the straps were digging into her back and arms. So what if she had to keep on tugging it up. This was worth it. This was the most worth it. Rei had said so.

You had to suffer, sometimes, to look good.

Master Reigen had said that, once, when Mob asked her why she wore high heeled shoes even though they hurt her feet. You had to suffer for beauty. Mob didn't think that she was beautiful. Teru told her that a lot but he told her a lot of nice things just to make her happy. Mob knew that she was normal looking at best. Tsubomi was beautiful. Mob looked nothing like Tsubomi. Even if Rei used up every single trick and hack she had stored up Mob would still never be anywhere as pretty as Tsubomi and the other girls like her. Pretty popular girls who didn't still wear undershirts and stuff like that.

Mob missed the undershirt.

She missed how warm it was, how soft, and how she didn't have to tug at it nonstop. No matter how many times she tugged at it with her powers and even by hand when she thoughts that nobody was looking she never managed to make this thing even the least bit comfortable. How did adults walk around like this? Mob wanted to go back to the undershirt. She had her whole life to be uncomfortable. She had her whole life to walk around with this…she didn't even have words for it…on and tugging at her skirt and pinching and…and….

Sometimes you had to suffer to look nice.

And she had a very good reason for wanting to look nice. For not only wearing a bra but also making it look, through the magic of life hacks, like she actually had a reason to wear a bra. She had a good reason to put herself through it and that reason was named Teru and he liked to kiss her and also other things. There were finally other things and it was great…at least she had always imagined that they would be greats...but instead of being great they were mostly just anxiety inducing.

That was the word for when you couldn't even feel good because you were so focused on every other thing besides how his hand actually FELT.

Mob hadn't planned on it. They had just been kissing, like they liked to sometimes, and then his hand had just gone up to her chest…and she knew that it was supposed to feel good. That was why people did stuff like that, to feel good, but Mob hadn't been able to feel anything but worried. Worried about if he liked it…because she had seen some of the girls that he went out with and Mob knew that she did not measure up…and then she got this idea in her head that he was thinking about those girls and not her…and then he thought that she didn't like it so now, really, they were most likely back to square one…and Mob didn't want to go back to square one! She had barely gone past square one and gotten to square two. Mob could not go back to square one when she had already been to square two.

She knew that she needed help.

And Rei was helpful. She was the one who had the idea of filling two balloons with pudding and then sticking them in a bra. There. Rei said that they were indistinguishable from the real things. Mob wasn't sure about that but she wasn't going to complain. She had done so much to help…and Mob was grateful. Now at least she looked like she had something that was there to feel…even if she couldn't feel anything…but at least she wouldn't feel worried and embarrassed and nervous and all of those other feelings that made her feel like she was losing control of her powers or would lose control or-

This may not have been comfortable but it was worth it.

Besides, it wouldn't be for too much longer. She just had to get through this work day and then she would see Teru again, the thought makes her turn bright red, and then she could go home and take this thing off and be free of it until tomorrow…and the next day…and the next day…for the rest of her life. She doesn't know how people do it. She's tempted to ask Master Reigen how she dealt with this every single day. She probably had some way of getting through it…and Mob really wanted to ask.

Because this was the worst.

"Hey Mob, how about we go get some snacks. I'm getting hungry." Said Reigen as Mob tugged, again, at the bra that she was wearing. The bright pink one…that she was wearing underneath her white school shirt….and also that she had stuffed with at least half a box of tissues on each side. Reigen knew that she had to say something. It was her duty to tell Mob that it was not a good look for her…

Or anyone.

Reigen knew that she had to say something. When she was Mob's age she tried out the same thing…to disastrous results. Maybe trying that little trick out on the same day that they were starting gymnastics in gym hadn't been the best idea. Thank God that someone threw up a month later during health class. Well something like that wouldn't be there to save Mob. Reigen could not let that happen to her. Nope. She wouldn't be able to call herself 'Master' anymore if she just let her student walk headfirst into oncoming embarrassment.

So they needed to have one of their patented Master and Student talks.

"Ok Master Reigen." Said Mob. She didn't really want to do anything that involved a lot of walking. Walking meant bouncing and bouncing meant rubbing up against her skirt and tugging at her shoulders and sides. But if Master Reigen needed her then of course she would help.

Even if every step was worse than the one before it.

She hated this. She wished that she had just stayed in her undershirt even if she did look like she was in elementary school. She was in her third year of high school and she still wore an undershirt and she should have just accepted herself for who she was instead of trying to change to become who she thought that she was supposed to be. That was the lesson to be learned in all of this. At least that was something that she figured Master Reigen would have said if this was one of their master and student talks.

Which it eventually became.

"Mob, we have to talk about something." Said Reigen as they walked down the street and through the summer sun together. It wasn't fall yet despite what the calendar said. That was another reason why she needed to inform Mob of her predicament. Sweat and white did not go together well.

"Usually when you say that we have to talk about something it's usually either something embarrassing or I did something wrong…or you did something wrong. What's wrong?" asked Mob. She didn't want anything to be wrong….or for this to be one of their embarrassing talks. She thought, for a moment, that Master Reigen knew. Tome had known just from looking at her. She had barely set one foot in the club room before Tome dragged her out by her wrist and asked her a million and one questions because 'it was obvious that something happened' even though Mob hadn't even said a word.

Apparently it had been written all over her face.

She wondered if it was still written all over her face. It had happened just a couple days ago…but she was still thinking about it nonstop. The way they had been kissing. The way he told her that she was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. The way the he seemed so much taller than her even if it was a few centimeters at most. The way his hand had felt going up from her waist to her chest. How nervous she had been. How sad she had been once she realized that he had done this before. How embarrassed she had felt when she realized that he had probably spent the whole time thinking about how he could have been with a girl who actually had something there to touch.

So maybe it was still written all over her face.

"It's of the embarrassing variety." Said Reigen. Now was not the time to be beating around the bush. They had to talk. Mob could not walk around like that. People sucked, they would make fun of her, and also it was just impractical.

"It is?" asked Mob

"Yup." Said Reigen

"Does it have to be?" asked Mob

"I think so." Said Reigen

"Um….do we have to?" asked Mob. She knew that she should not have been doing stuff like that with Teru. She shouldn't have even thought about doing stuff like that with Teru. Mom had said so. Mob didn't know how something that felt good could be bad…and she didn't know why it was ok for boys but not for girls….but she did know that she did not want to talk about it with anyone. If it was something that she would get in trouble for doing…or even if it wasn't since it was kind of private…she did not want to talk about this with Master Reigen.

"Mob…we kind of do. I can't let you walk around like this." said Reigen stopping in some shade. The last thing that either of them needed was heat stroke. Reigen couldn't wait for the winter…but of course by the time winter came she would have been wishing for summer.

"Like what?" asked Mob

"Like that." Said Reigen

"Oh no…it is written all over my face." Said Mob. She covered her face and shook her head. She wished that her hair had been longer, that she had never cut it, because then she could have hidden behind it and maybe if she hid for long enough then Master Reigen could have changed her mind and they could have talked about something else or kept on going to get snacks…or something.

"I have no idea what you're talking about…but now I feel like I should." Said Reigen. She stole a glance at Mob. Nothing was written all over her face…and Reigen wondered what it was there could have been written on her face. She was fifteen what could…well a lot of things…things that Mob should not have been getting up to. The sorts of things that could break a person's heart and ruin a person's life…and Mob did not deserve that.

"I don't want to talk about it." Said Mob quietly.

"I'm assuming that it has something to do with your new look." Said Reigen

"Um…yes. But do we have to talk about it? I mean…" said Mob. She did not want to get into why she looked the way she did. Not even with Master Reigen.

"Mob, you have to wear an undershirt. Ok? You can't wear a white shirt and no undershirt. Well either that or a slip but I think that I might be the last woman in Japan who wears a slip…even though it's a lot more comfortable than it looks." Said Reigen

"But I don't need an undershirt because I have a bra on. Isn't it an either or thing?" asked Mob. She had always assumed that it was either or. Rei never said that she had to wear an undershirt and she had been wearing a bra since elementary school.

"Well sometimes it can be…but this is not one of those times. Never with a bra that's not the same color as your top…and even then never like that." Said Reigen

"Like what?" asked Mob

"Mob, if you're going to stuff your bra then you should at least do it gradually." Said Reigen

"H-How can you tell-" asked Mob

"The fact that you went up two cup sizes is one night was a pretty big clue." Said Reigen

"Oh…but Rei said that nobody would be able to tell." Said Mob

"No offense to Rei but I've seen her wear bronzer as foundation." Said Reigen

"She was trying to look less pale." Said Mob. Rei knew what she was talking about. She knew a lot about this sort of thing. More than Mob knew anyway…but still a lot less than Master Reigen knew…

"Well then I'd say mission accomplished." Said Reigen with a shake of her head.

"She did look less pale." Said Mob. Rei knew what she was doing. She had done what she had set out to do…and Mob thought that she'd looked nice. Well Rei always looked nice…and not like in that way that Mob thought that all of her friends looked pretty while she just looked pretty plain.

"Yeah that's true but bronzer is not foundation. Just…Rei doesn't know everything, alright? She's only a year younger than you, you know." Said Reigen

"I know. I was at her birthday party." Said Mob. She knew that Rei was younger than her. She didn't know why Master Reigen felt the need to point out the obvious. Even though Rei was younger than her she still knew more about these sorts of things than Mob did. She also looked older than Mob, too, but then again even some first years looked older than her.

"Rei knows more about this than I do. That's why I believed her when she said that nobody would be able to tell…but if you could tell then…" said Mob. Oh no. Now she was probably being made fun of…and she had just started a new school year too!

"No, not everyone." Said Reigen lying through her teeth. Well not really a lie because she couldn't speak for the thoughts of everyone that Mob had come into contact with that day. Besides, it was for the greater good. Mob was freaking out…not that Reigen was going to make it into a habit to lie to Mob again…because that was a slippery slope that she did not want to start down again….

"But you just said-" said Mob

"Not everyone is as observant as me. No, I bet that hardly anyone noticed…yet. But they will which is why I'm talking to you about this now. I'm just trying to save you from getting made fun of. It is your last year of middle school after all." said Reigen. She really wished that she hadn't lied…or at least stretched the truth…but she did not want to have Mob freaking out. No, she didn't need that…and neither did the rest of the city. They had barely rebuilt from the last big psychic crisis.

"It is...and I don't want anyone to make fun of me. That's why I did this." said Mob

"You didn't want to be made fun of…so you stuffed your bra full of tissues? Mob, that's not a good id-" said Reigen

"Pudding." Said Mob

"What?" asked Reigen

"It isn't stuffed with tissues, it's stuffed with pudding." Said Mob. That detail was very important. Rei had been very thorough in her explanation as to why the classic tissue trick didn't work. Tissues didn't look real enough and if you got wet then it was game over. There was nothing worse than getting caught in the rain and then having everyone figure out the horrible truth. Not that Mob planned on getting caught in the rain anytime soon…but she hadn't wanted to argue with Rei. She was the expert after all.

"Pudding….? How did you even managed to stuff your bra with pudding?" asked Reigen. She got the mental image of Mob pouring pudding down her shirt…which was downright ridiculous but that was the only way that Reigen could imagine that working out.

"It's actually balloons full of pudding." Said Mob

"Seriously?" asked Reigen. Why didn't young her think of that. It was so much easier to get them both at the same size and shape…and they looked more natural too…not that Reigen was still self-conscious about that. No, she was almost thirty. She was way, way, WAY past that. She had to be.

"Yes. Rei said that it would be a good idea…" said Mob

"Well it sort of was…but, really, the risk of getting caught is just too great. Also you flew too close to the sun with this. Try and keep it realistic next time…not that there even should be a next time. You're fine just the way you are, Mob." Said Reigen

"I'm not though…I mean I feel like I'm not. I don't know. I just feel like everyone else is prettier than me or cuter or…just…more. And I never feel like enough. I don't know why I feel like this. I mean you tell me that I'm fine and Teru tells me that I'm pretty…the pretty girl he's ever seen…but I think that he might just be telling me what I want to hear." Said Mob

"This again? Mob, there is nothing wrong with the way you look. Nothing at all. I mean we all have things about ourselves that we aren't happy with but, really, in my experience nobody cares about those things as much as we do." Said Reigen

"Really?" asked Mob

"Yeah. Honestly you're your own worst critic. The things that you notice about yourself? Not a lot of other people notice. Everyone's got their own things that they're worried about." Said Reigen. She did not want to go back to be being Mob's age. To feel, constantly, like you were being stared at. Well she had never really moved past that feeling when she thought about it…

"I know that people have their own things that they worry about…and I guess that most people wouldn't care…but I care. I mean I care and…and I think that Teru cares. I mean he tells me things like…like he thinks that I'm pretty and stuff…but sometimes I feel like he just tells me what I want to hear. I mean I've seen his old girlfriend…a few of them…and-" said Mob

"Mob, no. None of that. Haystack likes you and you know it." Said Reigen. She wanted to tell Mob that these insecurities would fade with time but that would have been a bold faced lie. These insecurities never went away, infact some of them got even worse with age. She knew that she had no reason to think the same sorts of thoughts that Mob did, that Serizawa would find some minute flaw within her and hit the road, so she had no right to lie to Mob's face and tell her that it would get better.

"I know he does but sometimes when we…um…when we're together I just get this feeling that he doesn't like me…or that he just says things to make me happy…and I know that's not true but I still feel like it's true and…and then I just get so sad and worried…and that's just how I feel." Said Mob

"Mob…I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that those feelings ever go away. They don't. They get a lot quieter and sometimes it can seem like they're gone but they always find some way of coming back. It's alright, though, because the older you get the better you get at not listening to these sorts of feelings. You're fine the way you and if someone really cares about you then they won't care about superficial things like that." Said Reigen motioning towards Mob and Rei's better on paper than in real life idea.

"I…I guess." Said Mob. She wanted to trust Master Reigen on this, she really did, but it was hard to think that far ahead. Far enough ahead that she could see herself no worried about these sorts of things. Maybe this was one of those things that could become easier as she grew up. She trusted Master Reigen even though she had lied to her before. They were past that now. Master Reigen would never lie to her again.

"It's true. Trust me on this. I've been in your shoes before…except I didn't have the bright idea to use balloons full of pudding. No, I did the old tissue trick…and that was the day that we started gymnastics in gym class. You can see where this is going." said Reigen

"Oh no…did you have to change schools?" asked Mob. That was really the only thing you could do when something like that happened to you. Change schools and then change your name and also move to a new country, too, just for good measure.

"I wanted to but my mom, ever the reasonable one, said no." said Reigen. Her mother also said that Reigen had brought it upon herself by being too lazy to grow them herself but that was not something that Mob needed to know about.

"Oh. I would have changed schools and changed my name and moved to another country if that happened to me." Said Mob

"Believe me, I wanted to. That was the most embarrassing moment of my life so far….but I recovered. That's why I wanted to warn you. You shouldn't have to recover from things like that. Trust me on this." said Reigen

"I trust you Master Reigen." Said Mob. Master Reigen was right. She had been right, before, when she told Mob not to be so worried about how she looked and stuff. Teru cared about her for who she was. That was just the truth of it. She shouldn't have been so worried. Master Reigen was right, Master Reigen was always right.

"Good. Now come on, let's get some snacks and then when we get back you can get changed. That can't possibly be comfortable." Said Reigen

"It's not…it's really not." Said Mob


	46. Costco

Reigen didn't go to Costco all that often.

It was far away, for one thing, and also she didn't have a Costco card. She went to Costco with her mom on the rare times when she came to town but mom was not in town for one of their mother daughter lunches/ lectures on how nobody wanted a Christmas cake after the twenty fifth, no, it was just Reigen on her own.

With her boyfriend's Costco card.

It was so…adult. The whole thing. She was there in Costco on her own with her boyfriend's Costco card. Her boyfriend. The man who she was dating. The man who she was seeing in an exclusive romantic sense. Who she lov-liked a whole lot. She had borrowed his Costco card and now she was in Costco on her own and…and that was it. She was an adult out in the world doing adult things.

She was almost thirty. This wasn't new to her.

She had been living on her own since university. She had been doing her own shopping since high school. This was not something new to her. She wasn't doing anything that she hadn't done before. She wasn't doing anything unusual for a woman her age. She was shopping in a Costco on a Sunday afternoon. That was normal. She had borrowed this Costco card from her boyfriend. That was also normal. She was used to it, she had to be, because she'd had weeks to get used to it. Being in a proper adult relationship.

Being a proper adult.

That was it. That was why she was so fixated on this. That was why all she could think of while she walked past industrial sized boxes of laundry detergent was the fact that she was shopping in a Costco on her own like the adult she was, what she was fixated on, was the fact that she was…being an adult. She was just so…normal. This whole thing was just so normal. Her being there…and her being with him…in the way she was with him.

It was all so normal.

She stopped in front of the detergent she needed. She'd run out and, honestly, it was cheaper to do all of her shopping for God only knew how long at once at Costco and take a cab home than run to the convenience store for everything. Buying in greater volume and all of that. It was about time that she did something about her finances. She had always spent money as soon as she made it but now she had to be responsible.

That was part of being in a relationship.

Dates were an expense, true, but there was also the fact that…and she hated that it had even crossed her mind…there was the potential that they would marry their fortunes together. Well she paid him, she knew how much he made and all of that, but they could still…they could still come together. Their lives. It had been something that she had been thinking about for a while, since they'd bought that damned air conditioner, how they could just…be together. How the natural order of things went. A man and a woman met, went out for a while, had sex a few times, and then decided to make it all…permanent. They moved into each other's spaces and learned each other's habits and just…merged lives. They merged time and schedules and finances and cookware and flatware and argued over who forgot to move the clothes to the dryer and…and all of that.

And it started with an air conditioner.

Well it would for them. That had been a lot of money to go fifty/fifty on. It had been worth it, of course, because it had been a very hot summer and the office had been an oven. It was either buy an air conditioner or start teaching hot yoga. Reigen went with the air conditioner and…and that had been ok. It had been ok that he had wanted to help her…even though she had done it alone for so long…and he had only done it because he was her…her boyfriend…

She decided to go with a different detergent than her usual kind. This one was in even more extreme bulk.

She almost dropped it as she pulled it off of the shelf. If Serizawa had been there then he could have gotten it easily with his powers or just by hand. He was strong, very strong, strong enough to pick her up. She blushed a little as she remembered the last time that he had picked her up. It was after the kids went home, just him and her in the office, and she had been ready to get going…she had actually asked him if he wanted to stop off for ramen on the way home…but then he just sort of looked at her…

And then he asked if he could kiss her.

He wasn't usually so bold as to just come out and ask her. Of course she had said yes, that was one of the main perks of being in a relationship after all, and then he had done something totally unexpected. He had held her around the waist and then he just…lifted her. He lifted her up and sat her down on her desk and then he had kissed and…and it had been so…

Unexpected.

But in a good way. A way that she had never seen him be before. A way that she had never known that he could even be. She had seen him shy, awkward, sweet, endearing, romantic, but never so…she didn't even have a word for it. The way that he had been that made her toes curl and a shiver run up her spine and a bolt of lightning pass through her heart. The way that he had been…it had been so…well….she didn't want to call it that but there had been no other word for it.

Intense.

That was the word for it…even though they hadn't done anything at all that could even be classified as being intense. They kissed, they made out, and sometimes he felt her up. That would have been intense if she had been fifteen years younger. She had done so much more than that….and that wasn't the point. She wasn't comparing him to anyone else. She just…she just had no idea why it even felt so intense with him. What they did. Maybe because they had gone in baby steps up to this point…or maybe because he hadn't done anything at all before and there was something to being someone's first everything…or maybe because she felt…she felt like…

She loved him.

She starts walking quickly. She starts walking like she can outrun her own thoughts and feelings. She can't outrun her own mind but she still tries. As she walks she tries to think of something else, anything else, but she can't. She can't even remember what she had come in for…she really needed to start writing down her shopping lists instead of keeping them all in her head…and she knew that she must have needed something and-

Ooh! Body wash!

She had some at home. She had plenty at home, actually, but she could always use more. After all body wash wasn't going to go bad or anything like that. You could never have too much body wash. In fact if you thought that you had enough then you obviously didn't because you couldn't just go off and neglect your basic hygiene like that. No, she was actually doing the responsible thing and buying more. After all she did take a lot of showers, it was sweaty work she did, and one day she might have trusted too much in having body wash in reserve and then she might end up reaching over and finding none. Then she would have to go through her whole day smelling terrible and she could not handle that.

There. Now she was thinking about something besides her love life.

"Seaweed and….mango? Cucumber and….tomato? Carrot and…well carrot and Dead Sea mud at least makes some sense…." Muttered Reigen as she went about popping off body was caps and smelling them. Well now she knew why these were so cheap. The carrot one was ok though. She flipped it over and checked the ingredients. Thanks to Rei she knew what to look out for in soaps.

"Master Reigen? Why are you talking to the shampoo bottles?" Reigen just about jumped a meter into the air. Thank God that she was wearing gym shoes that day or she knew she would have ended up on the ground.

"Mob? What are you doing here?" asked Reigen as she composed herself. Wow. Seeing Mob outside of work or work related things. Always kind of weird. Sort of like she was intruding on something…even though they were in a public place. It was just so weird seeing casual Mob. Well she did, occasionally, see Mob out of uniform during the school year but this….new.

What was she even wearing?

It looked like cosplay. She looked like she stepped right out of a magical girl anime and into life. Everything but her expression. Still that same expressive non expression she always wore. Some might have mistook Mob for bored but Reigen knew better. She was happy to see her. Reigen could tell by her eyes…even though she was wearing what must have been an entire pallet's worth of eyeshadow. A full face of makeup actually.

Reigen wanted nothing more than to take a picture just to document the adorableness of this all…and also maybe to tease Mob with when she was older. Not in a mean way, of course.

"My mom said that she needed me and Ritsu to help her cover more ground. Why were you talking to the shampoo?" Said Mob

"This isn't shampoo, this is body wash, and I was not talking to it. I was just…talking to myself." Said Reigen

"Oh…ok. If you're lonely then I can stay and talk to you. Well I can do that but I also have to get more soap, too. The kind we always get even though there are so many other kinds. Mom won't let me pick the soap because she's the one paying for it." Said Mob. Reigen made a mental note to give Mob a raise. Everyone deserved proper grooming products. Knowing Mrs. Kageyama Mob was probably still stuck with all of the kids' stuff she had been using for her entire life. Honestly, Reigen did not understand parents sometimes. She'd let her daughter have whatever she wanted grooming wise. It was important to look you best…though she probably wouldn't let her Daughter have at the makeup like mob had. Though it was nice to see her mother giving her more freedom. Reigen wouldn't assign some arbitrary age to when her daughter could start wearing makeup. Just so long as she looked nice and wasn't buying anything from those shady sights and-

And Reigen did not have a daughter so there was no point in speculating about how she would bring up a daughter who did not even exist.

"You aren't missing anything. Here, smell this weirdness." Said Reigen as she hand Mob a bottle of lemon and grape scented body wash. Mob scrunched her nose and passed it back as soon as she smelled it.

"That was terrible, Master Reigen, why would someone make something like that?" asked Mob

"Well there's something for everyone I guess." Said Reigen as she put it back on the shelf. Why someone would need a four pack of that, a four pack of economy sized bottles of that, she would never know. At least Mob didn't like it either. At least Reigen knew, now, that she was not the weird one.

"I can see why my mom only lets me get one kind of soap, now." Said Mob

"Don't worry, most soap isn't this weird. There's a whole world out there, Mob, just waiting for you to dive into it." Said Reigen. She had loved that back when she had been Mob's age. Discovering new scents and products and stuff had been one of her favorite afterschool activities. Well one of her favorite family rated after school activities…which maybe Mob should have took up considering the barely concealed mark on her neck…

Well at least Reigen knew what all the makeup was about.

"But if I dove into body wash it would sting my eyes…unless it was tear free. Or unless I was wearing goggles I guess." Said Mob

"Tear free is a lie, Mob, a terrible lie. You'd be better off wearing goggles." Said Reigen

"It would be cheaper to use water, though, wouldn't it Master Reigen?" asked Mob

"Not if you were using these bottles. Jeez, who needs four economy sized bottles of this shi-stuff?" asked Reigen

"People with big families, maybe, or people who never stop taking baths." Said Mob

"Never stop taking baths?" asked Reigen

"Yes. I saw, well me and Rei and Tome saw when we were sleeping over at Tome's house, this show where this one lady took seven baths or more a day. That's bad for your skin, Rei says so. Tome thinks that eventually you would just grow gills. I don't think that would happen but I do think that taking that many baths is too many baths. I mean I like baths too but not that often. Maybe because my bathtub at home is too small to lay down all the way. Teru's tub is big enough for two peop-um…and-and-um….your hair looks nice today! That's a really good sloppy bun….and…um…your hair tie is nice. The...um…pink is a nice color." Said Mob. Reigen could feel Mob's nervousness, the crackle in the air from her powers, and she chose not to address what she had just heard. First of all she hadn't been going for a sloppy bun and also…what the hell? Mob had been about to say that her boyfriend's tub was big enough for two. She could have figured that out in plenty of ways that had nothing to do with the poorly covered hickey on her neck…and Reigen was not going to think about it. Reigen was not going to think about how Mob was fifteen now and older and probably going to get up to the same things that Reigen had gotten up to when she had been fifteen….

Mob's life was her own and she could do whatever she wanted to do.

"Thanks. That what I was going for. You look…nice. Going for the magical girl look?" asked Reigen

"Teru picked out this dress for me and he likes it when I wear makeup like this. Well he says that I'm pretty all the time but I know that he likes me best when I dress like this. He has an outfit that matches this one, well not a dress because he's a boy, but he has clothes that match and later on we're going to get dinner together and I'm really excited and-" said Mob. Reigen knew that Mob had two modes. There was quiet Mob and then there was talking a mile a minute Mob. She only did that when she got excited. She was very excited now.

And Reigen was excited for her. She had to be supportive…even though Reigen wanted to take her and shake her and tell her that she was way too young for what she was getting up to.

"Shige! Where are you with that soap!" called Mob's mother down the aisle. Mob jumped, practically, at the sound of her mother's voice. Reigen gave her a sympathetic look. She knew that feeling well…and she was not going to project. Her relationship with her own mother was not Mob's relationship with her mother.

And it would not be her relationship with her daughter, either.

Reigen's thoughts stayed on her hypothetical future daughter after Mob said her goodbyes and went back to her mother's side. Reigen hadn't ever given much thought to being a mother aside from a few pregnancy scares and way too much money spent on various types of birth control. She didn't feel a ticking biological clock urging her to go out and mate with the first man she saw before her eggs ran out and she withered and died like a husk. She had actively avoided being anyone's mother for so long…

Well there were the kids.

She was a cool aunt, at best, when it came to the kids. She didn't want to be a mother figure. Too much responsibility and too much breathing down teenager's necks. She saw nothing inherently wrong with what those kids were getting up to in life. Love, makeup, boys, sneaking out to each other's houses in the middle of the night, none of it bothered her. They got up to what they got up to and all she asked was that they were safe. That was the direct opposite of what a mother should have been.

Or maybe she was just projecting thanks to her own experiences with her own mother.

She…she didn't hate the idea of having a daughter. A son…she had no idea what she would do if she had a son. She had never been a boy, never had a brother, and her father had walked out when she had been a kid. She didn't know anything at all about raising boys. That was probably why people tended to pair up before they had kids…not that Reigen had ever been paired up before. Not in any serious way. Before, if she had gotten pregnant, she knew that she would have been on her own. She also knew that she could not have done it on her own hence the birth control.

Why was she even thinking about this?

They hadn't even had sex yet and she was thinking about….ugh! What was with her? She was turning into one of those baby crazy, relationship obsessed, women. She was…she didn't even know what was the matter with her. She had barely done more than kiss him, she hadn't even known him a full year, and now she was thinking about all the ways she would be a better mother to their daughter than her mother had been to her.

Did she even want that with him?

Yes. The answer was yes. The answer was yes and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about this. She wanted to spend her life with him…and…and she had never felt that way about anyone else before in her entire life. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with this information. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with herself. She was moving too fast. At some point she had started moving too fast without even having had gone anywhere. She couldn't even believe herself. She was…she didn't even know what was up with her. To be thinking like this so early…or even at all…

He couldn't know.

If he knew then he would get freaked out and he wouldn't stick around…and rightly so. He had just started to live his life, to properly live his life, and he did not need her coming to him with all of her stupid, way too fast, wants and stuff. She was his first everything…or she would be once they got to the everything…and he might have even decided that he would rather have had…she didn't know. She didn't know why she would even think that about him. He wasn't that kind of guy. There was no person more loyal, more sweet, more caring than Serizawa Katsuya. He had literally risked his life for her. He had betrayed the person who had saved him just so he could save a woman he didn't even know….

She loved him.

She loved him and instead of a sticky, sappy, sweet feeling settling inside of her it was, instead, the feeling of…panic. Panic and fear and just…too much! Way too much! She got to moving. She was there to shop, not panic, and she was going to shop. She was going to shop and think about…about anything other than…than how she felt. The love she felt, the things she feared, and the fact that she wanted nothing more than to marry her life to his….

They had just started sharing a Costco card. Now was not the time to be thinking about sharing lives.

Too fast. She was moving too fast, both physically and mentally, and she had to just…stop. Just stop and breathe and think. Think about…about something else. Think about shopping. Think about all the things you need to do…and she did. She thought about everything that she had to do…and she tried her best not to think about him…about how she…loved him…about how he could have said no…to everything...

She loved him, it was scary, and she had shopping to do.


	47. Haircuts And Three Important Words

Sometimes Reigen Arataki could be really hypocritical.

But that was her right as an adult. She was the adult here and this was her office and if she wanted to use her office for reasons other than work related ones then that was her business. She could close the blinds, lock the door, and do something in her office that had nothing at all to do with work. She was the boss here and that was the beauty of being the boss. She could do whatever she wanted!

Though maybe this was not the best place for such…intimate….after work activities.

"God, Serizawa, how does your hair grow this fast?" asked Reigen as she ran a comb through the bird's best that had become Serizawa's hair. This was best done every two weeks but they hadn't had the chance. It had been an unusually busy couple of weeks. Spirits, curses, massages, all of it. She hadn't had the time to sit Serizawa down and do something about the bird's nest that was his hair.

Also the kids were around a lot and…well when they were around it always turned into a game of mad stylist.

"Sorry….Reigen. I don't-" said Serizawa as he felt Reigen running the comb through his hair. She was so close. He could smell her perfume and feel the weight of her against his back…he felt like he shouldn't have been feeling this way…but it was ok to feel this way. She was his girlfriend and it was ok to feel this way about your girlfriend. That was just…an ok way to feel about someone you….loved.

Loved.

He loved her…when she was this close! He loved her when she was this close to him, close enough that he could smell her perfume…and the cigarettes she smoked….and the incense smell that always clung to her. She smelled so good…and she felt so good too. Warm, even though the air conditioner was going full blast. It wasn't that hot out but she didn't want to turn it off just yet in case another hot snap came. He was glad that she had it on. He felt warm from his head to his toes when she was this close…and when she leaned in closer. Her hair was resting against him, now, he could see it coming down over his eyes…she was leaning over him. She had cut some of his hair and it had fallen and…and now she was leaning over him and….

Seriously. Get it together, Katsuya.

"Don't say sorry, I'm jealous, actually, I wish my hair grew this fast. Then maybe I could cut it." Said Reigen. She regretted saying that the moment it came out of her mouth. God, she was such an idiot when he was near. What she had meant to say was something along the lines of 'if her hair grew as fast as his then she could have tried out different cuts' but of course she had to go and put her foot in her mouth. What was wrong with her? She had been his….girlfriend….for months now but she still turned into a teenager when he was near.

Seriously. Get it together Arataki.

"I-I…I-…" said Serizawa trying to find sounds that had the hope of becoming leaned over and brushed the hair that had fallen away from him. Her hand lingered…and he had no idea what to say. He had to say something. He had to make words. He knew words, he knew how they worked, and he had used thousands of them over the course of his lifetime….but he had no words right now. He wanted to…well he wanted to pull her down and kiss her but that…would not have been ok. Well it would have been ok…because they had kissed before…and she had told him that she was always up for kissing…and he liked it but….well he just…he didn't know if it was ok…even though she had said that it was ok….

He didn't want to risk it not being ok.

He didn't want to risk her getting upset with him. Slapping him like in an anime and…well he had been watching too much anime…and playing too many games…because she would never have slapped him…but she would have been upset with him….and maybe she wouldn't have but…well he didn't know if he could take that risk…the risk of pulling her down onto his lap and kissing her…or even the risk of asking her…but he had to say something….

Anything.

"Your hair is very nice and…and if you wanted to cut it then I wouldn't mind…I mean it's your hair and I have no say in it and…and I love you even if your hair is long or short or-" Serizawa. He didn't realize what he had said until he said it…and then at that point it was too late. He wished that he could have taken it back, if he could have jumped off a cliff or down a hole in the world and gone back to the last save point and redone that whole sentence….the whole relationship….his whole life up to that point. He wanted to just go back to a checkpoint or a save file…

But this was his only save file…and there were no checkpoints….

So now all he had to do, all he could do, was deal with what he had just said. She had stopped cutting, now, and she had barely started…and she was still leaning over him….and he would have jumped up and ran away if he hadn't been so close to her…because then he would have hurt her. He could feel his powers just under his skin, right there, just there and just….he needed to calm down. Even though he had messed up and now…now he had moved too fast and…and this was not something that they just….that was just said like it was nothing…this was…this was something that he felt and…and he just…this was the biggest and most intense thing that he had ever felt and….

And she was moving now.

"I love you too, Serizawa…now how short do you want it? Short like last time?" asked Reigen quickly. She had said it back. She could count the number of people she had ever said that back to on one hand and she still would have had fingers to spare and…and she was fine. Her heart was racing because….because she felt the same way. That was the only reason that her heart was racing. That was the first and only time that he had ever….well he was getting braver…more outgoing….takin control of his own life…and she was proud of him…and she was happy…

She was so, incredibly, deliriously, happy.

She was! She just…she loved him and…and the word had been there, on the tip of her tongue, for so long…and now it was out there and…and that was fine. This was fine. They were two adults in their late twenties and…this was what adults in their late twenties did. Fell in love and…and she could do this. She knew how to do this. This would not end in…badly. This would not end in badly…and that didn't even make grammatical sense but…but this made sense and…and the two of them made sense! The two of them made sense….together. A sweet, sensitive, kind man like him and…and someone like her. Someone who had spent years lying to a little girl who idolized her….someone who had just…she wasn't going to sit there and drag up every single thing she was ashamed of in her past. He knew her past, he knew her, and he loved her and….

And she loved him too…so that was that.

"Um…as short as before and…and about what I said-" said Serizawa. He wanted to tell her that she wasn't obligated to say it back to him. He wanted to tell her that he had been…well not that he hadn't been thinking because that would have been mean and…and that would have been the worst thing that he could have done and…and he wanted to say SOMETHING.

But he couldn't.

"Sorry, I can't here you. Electric clippers. Sorry." said Reigen. She preferred to do this with salon scissors, better fine control, and it took longer. It took longer and that meant more time near him…which was stupid. She wasn't a teenager, she was a grown woman, and if she wanted to be near her boyfriend then she could just tell him and…and she did want to be near him…but also she needed some space…space to think…even though she had no idea what it was that she even had to think about….what she even could think about….

Or what he wanted to talk about.

So she got out the electric clippers faster than she had ever thought possible. She just….needed a moment. To think. To collect herself. To calm down and stay calm and…and she just…breathe. Maybe breathing would have been easier if she hadn't been smoking a pack a day since she had been in high school. She needed to just try her best and breathe and then…and then she would finish his haircut…and then they could get ramen and then….well and then things could go back to normal…not that they weren't normal….not that she wasn't normal….

She was normal god damn it!

"Reigen…Reigen can we just….I'll wait." Said Serizawa. He wanted to talk about this. She had been talking really fast…and he knew that she did that when she was nervous. She had to see that he hadn't said that to put any pressure on her. That was just the way that he felt. He loved her and he wanted…well he wanted to take it back…but he also didn't. There was something just so…freeing…about it all being out in the open. Like something heavy had been on his shoulders and now it was gone and…and now she knew. He loved her. He was Serizawa Katsuya, former hikikomori and Claw member, current assistant to the greatest psychic of the twenty first century, and he was in love with Reigen Arataki…..

And she loved him back.

The feel of it, the weight of it, was gone….and so was the feel of his powers…the coming explosion. She…she didn't…she didn't need to see him like that….and she wouldn't. She wouldn't see him like that and…and he didn't even feel like that anymore. He just…he loved her. He loved her and she loved him and….and she was nervous but…but maybe it was the good kind of nervous. Maybe she was the good kind of nervous and so was he and….

And they could talk about this when she was done.

It didn't take her long to finish cutting his hair, and he had thought that she was done, but then she had started combing it….and combing it…and combing it even though he knew that it must have been too short to comb. She was just scraping it against his scalp at this point. He didn't know why she was like this. She was nervous but….but maybe it wasn't the good kind of nervous. Maybe she was…maybe he had pushed her too hard…gone too far…maybe….maybe they needed to talk about this now and….and maybe he had to be the one to start the conversation.

"Reigen-" said Serizawa. She didn't stop combing. If anything that made her comb faster. He didn't know if he could take any more combing…and he didn't know if he could take any more of this…it had been silence but now she had started talking and…and he knew what it meant when she started talking like this.

"You know you look good with your hair short or long. Short is easier to deal with but long leaves you more options to style it…well comb it. Though combing is kind of difficult with your hair type. I just can't get it to calm down. You know this could take all day, really, if I don't do it right. Like, did I ever tell you about when I was in beauty school? It was after the dog grooming but before the water cooler sales job. Anyway I had this client come in, it was still my student practicals, and she had hair just like yours. Now normally when women with your hair type come in they want it straightened but this woman came in asking for a perm, an honest to God perm. Like it was the eighties. Well perms was a two part class and I had only made it to part one so-" said Reigen. She knew that she was going on and on and on, she knew that she went on and on and on when she was nervous, and she knew that he probably didn't want to hear about something that had happened to hear all the way back in beauty school…but she had to say something.

She had to talk.

Because there had been silence and she did not do well at all in silence. She had been thinking but thinking was maybe leading to overthinking. She loved him, he loved her, they were two adults in love. That was normal. They were normal. People fell in love every single day. That was normal. This was normal. This was…she could do this. She had done this before….

And it had gone terribly wrong.

It had ended in heartbreak and pain and her stealing an entire garden and replanting it in her mother's backyard…and mom still went on and on and on about that. About how she had messed up the best thing that would ever happen to her. About how she had been an idiot to let a man like that go, apparently he had 'good prospects' or whatever. About how Reigen was her own worst enemy and how it was hard enough to meet a man when you were half Japanese….and now she could hear her mother's voice in her head clear as day….and she wanted it out…and she wanted the memory of that relationship out…and maybe if she spoke enough, if she used enough words, then the memories and thoughts would all get drowned out…

That had been the plan, anyway.

She had been talking, telling her about the time she had turned a woman into a poodle and then put her dog grooming skills to the test, when she felt the comb being pulled from her hand. It was gentle, though, he rarely used his powers like this but when he did it was so gentle…he was always so gentle with her. He even got up gently, when he was done taking the comb from her hand, and he even turned around gently….and her heart was pounding but it was not pounding gently…and she had no idea why it was pounding like this…it had just….maybe it was the love confession…or maybe how close he was…or maybe how she wanted to be closer to him…or maybe it was how she wanted to run far away from him….far away before she ruined this just like she ruined everything….

"Reigen…can we talk?" asked Serizawa as he turned to face her. She was so red…and he had no idea if it was good or bad…but good or bad they would deal with it together.

"We are talking." Said Reigen. Her voice went up above twenty octaves at the end of that. She had no idea what he was going to say…but whatever it was she was going to accept it. If he took it back she was going to accept it. If he said it again then she was going to accept it. If he asked her if they could go to a different ramen place then she was going to accept it. If he told her that he hated ramen and never wanted to look at another bowl of it again in his life then she was going to accept it.

That was what you did when you loved someone….and she loved him.

"I mean…about what I said before. I mean…I meant what I said but I didn't say it to make you say it back. I know you and I know how you are when you're nervous…and you're very nervous right now…and I don't want to push you too fast and-" said Serizawa. He would have said more, he wanted to say more, in fact he had exactly what he had been planning to say all lined up in his head. He would have told her that whatever she felt was fine by him and then he would have asked if they could go to her favorite ramen spot and then that would have been the end of it. He could have said that and he would have said that but he didn't get a chance to say that.

Because she was kissing him.

He could feel her lips pressed against his and, acting on a two second delay, he kissed her back. This was…it had started out like their usual kisses…and now it was moving into being….well this had become usual and…well usual when they were alone and…and they were alone now and….and he had probably really misread the entire thing. Maybe she hadn't been nervous because he had just blurted out the three most important words that one person could say to another. Or maybe she had just been nervous because she wanted to kiss him like…this….

That door was locked, right?

"Serizawa…Seri-Katsuya….'Suya…" said Reige between kisses. She loved him and he loved her and…and they didn't need to talk about it. It had been said, it couldn't be unsaid, and there was no reason for it to be re-said. This was…a healthy adult relationship…and this was what happened in healthy adult relationships…so it was what it was and what it was…well it was them making out in the locked office…and she had locked that door, right?

No time to find out.

There wasn't any time to find out. There wasn't any time to stop. If she stopped…if they stopped….then they would have to talk about it and…and Reigen considered herself to be very good at talking…but there were some things that just didn't need talking about. I love yous were exchanged. That was all. They loved each other and now…well why not just…get to the things that people did when they were in love? Even though she was running from…she wasn't running from anything. She loved him, he loved her, so why not do the things that people did when they wanted to show love?

So that was what they did….and no, Reigen was not avoiding anything…


	48. The Truth is Out There

The truth was out there.

Tome had known this to be true since the day she had been born! Well she assumed so, anyway, she didn't actually have memories of being born….but she didn't need them to know that the truth was out there and that she was the only one who knew it! But not in a crazy way. A sane way. Because she was sane and everyone who thought that she was crazy…well they were the crazy ones!

Anyone who made fun of her had to be crazy. There. Simple.

"Beam me up, Kurata! Take me with you back to planet loser!" Oh, wow, that was a new one. Tome had no idea who it was who had taken the time from their busy schedule to shout at her as she walked to work/hanging out with sane people but she knew that they were insane. Crazy. Also they obviously had nothing to do with their lives so they bothered her.

"You're not even worth dissecting!" shouted Tome. She could yell louder and she did yell louder and therefore she had won. Whoever shouted loudest won and there, as the loudest yeller in Seasoning City, she had won. That was her actual title, she had been voted loudest in her entire graduating class back in Salt Mid…

Not that she missed Salt Mid.

Not that she missed the stupid blue sailor dress and the 8:20 start time and the Telepathy Club and her days spent doing shit all with everyone….not that she ever laid up in bed at night and wished that she could have done back to those days….she was in high school! She didn't have to look back at all of that. She had high school adventures coming to her! Like getting the new telepathy club off the ground…and Inukawa! She at least had a boyfriend which was more than the people who made fun of her had….

She had a lot going on in her life.

Like now! She was going to her unpaid internship at an exorcist's office! What did she care what a bunch of boring, basic, nothing ever happened, plain white ride without even any soy sauce people thought of her? She was Kurata Tome and she had a lot going on and…and if people didn't have anything better to do in their lives than make fun of her then that said more about them than it did about her. Like her mom had been telling her for her entire life. People only made fun of others because they had nothing else going on in their lives.

So there.

She had a lot going on in her life. She had so much going on that it was making her dizzy! She had a job and friends and a boyfriend and she knew that the truth was out there and she searched the skies tirelessly….so yeah! She knew that she had a lot going on and she didn't need someone else telling her…or not telling her…or whatever! She had things going on and now she had to….to do those things….

She really hoped that this wasn't one of those days that were spent doing a whole lot of nothing.

They had those days a lot of the time. She was the only normal person…well there was Reigen but she was Reigen. She didn't have any powers but she more than made up for it. Tome…well she didn't need powers or whatever. She played an integral part of team spirits and such and…and she totally was! She was and whatever she needed to help with she would and…and yeah! She had a lot going on and she…she was not a loser.

It was everyone else who was crazy.

So she headed over to the only sane place that she knew. She could see the Spirits and Such sign like a lighthouse in a storm or a fog or something like that. She walked faster as she saw it. She walked fasted because she wanted to get inside….and not because outside was full of assholes who had nothing better to do than make the same tired old jokes that people had been making since she had been in elementary school.

Which said more about them than it did about her.

Really. That said so much more about them and how much they sucked than it did about her. She wasn't crazy. She just knew the truth. There was something out there bigger than her, than this city, than this country, than this whole world! There was an entire universe up there above their heads. A universe with people in it completely unlike them. Beings that lived their own lives out there on alien worlds completely unaware that they were being watched by beings on other worlds who wanted….well to meet them….or whatever…or at least just to have some confirmation of the truth….because it was out there…and Tome knew it.

She really did.

But she didn't have time for the truth now. She had work to do. She made her way to Spirits and Such and opened the outer door. Maybe Mob would be there today. She always had something going on…well she used to. Back before she had met Hanazawa. Honestly, she had at some point turned into one of those girls with a boyfriend, not that Tome wasn't one of those girls with a boyfriend, but Mob had turned into one of those girls where it always came back to their boyfriend. She got it, Hanazawa was rich and hot and lived in his own apartment…and maybe if he actually did something in that apartment Mob would have stopped bringing every single conversation back to him….

Not that she didn't love Mob, she did, she just…well things had been…she sort of missed the way that things had been.

Back last year. Back when they first met. Back when it was just the two of them in the Telepathy Club, well Mob was in the Body Improvement Club but still, and they had just spent their days doing shit all…or at least they had the option of going back to those days that they would spend doing shit all. Now they went to different schools and…yeah they were friends…but at least Tome…well at least she'd had allies and…and not that she didn't have friends but…well at least there had been people near her that got her. Not just the guys. At least there had been someone…well like her…who got her. Not that Tome was trying to move to one of those all women islands or anything like that, guys were awesome, but it had been nice to have had an ally in the building she was dragged out of bed every morning and forced to spend most of her day in….

But at least she had allies in this building.

"I think you might have gone a little crazy there, Rei…" Tome heard Reigen's voice before she even made it all the way up the stairs. Crazy? Something crazy was happening? She wanted in on the crazy! She didn't care what it was! She practically tore the door off it's hinges as she opened it and…well that was…

How in the hell did that count as crazy!?

"Rei, you did good. Reigen, I've been saying for years that we needed more color in this place. Rei, you're awesome." Said Tome as she sat down at Rei's desk. She was making paper birds again, in all colors of the rainbow, and she was having Mob and Serizawa hang them. So this was going to be one of those days that they would spend doing shit all. Perfect.

She had missed those days.

Sure she would have loved if something crazy had happened but…but this was good two. Sort of like the Telepathy Club part two, this time with adults and psychic powers and the occasional exorcism job. Sure she would have loved if someone walked through that door with a cursed conjoined twin sticking out of their head and the theme from the Exorcist playing but, well, that wasn't an everyday thing. This was an everyday thing. Her and her friends just hanging out doing shit all.

What else could a person possibly want?

"Thanks! See? I knew that someone you like them. I was in crafting club today and they were all 'Rei, we're doing traditional birds' and I guess that traditional means white paper or something but then I looked into the future and I saw that you guys would like them and-" said Rei

"It's not that I don't like them, I just have no idea where we're going to put them." Said Reigen. She motioned up to the ceiling that Rei had already covered in paper lanterns…and that had been a fun day. They hadn't really done anything but it had still been fun. Just folding things…normal people fun. Not seeking the truth of existence. Just…them having fun. Normal people fun with espers.

"We could put them over the windows, Master, we haven't put anything there." said Mob. Where had she-oh, there. She'd been sitting behind Rei braiding her hair. Great, Mob was finally back. Maybe Hanazawa had finally figured out that Mob was just as human as he was and they had finally consummated their relationship like normal adults and now Mob could stop agonizing about it.

"Then how are we going to see out the windows?" asked Reigen. She said that in that way that she said things before she agreed to them. She had the softest spot for Mob. Well Mob and Serizawa, but in different ways of course. They were…well they were trying not to look at each other…and now that was interesting….very interesting….

Something had happened!

That was what they should have been discussing! Not where to hang all of those paper birds! They should have been discussing whatever the new development in the long when will they of Serizawa and Reigen…not that Tome didn't have anything else to talk about…that was just the most interesting thing that had been happening around here. God, Tome was about to lock them in here until they got married or whatever they were going to end up doing. That might work….she could pretend that the lock had broken…and then while they were waiting for a locksmith they could talk about their relationship and finally get through all the tiers…

But how would she even sabotage the door, though, so it looked like an accident….

"We could just….get by without windows?" asked Mob

"Or peep holes! We could make peep holes." Said Rei

"Fine, you can hang the birds…but we're not doing any renovations. The landlord would kill me….and he already has it out for me since last time." Said Reigen. She looked at Tome when she said that…and how was she supposed to know that the landlord would have had a problem with her spending the night on the roof watching the skies? She hadn't been hurting anyone and she had figured out how to get down off the roof eventually!

"I still stand by the fact that I didn't do anything wrong!" said Tome. She would submit to torture, a lie detector test, anything! She hadn't done anything wrong. Nobody got it, that was all. Nobody got it that she was doing very important work! Well she was. She was always doing very important work and…well she had gotten off the roof eventually!

"Right. Well you three watch the front, and no drilling peep holes, I have a client coming and I need to get the curse removal room sanitized. Serizawa, you want to help me?" asked Reigen

"I'd love to!" said Serizawa and….yup. Something had happened. Reigen practically ran away, as well as anyone could run in those heels, when he said the word 'love'…and now this would have to be discussed. They had no choice but to discuss this. Serizawa disappeared after Reigen and now…well now they had to get to the truth of it. Of what they had just witnessed….or what was probably happening between them…they had to get to the truth!

Because it was out there! The truth was out there and, well, Tome was tired of looking for the truth by herself so…well that was what friends were for, right?!


	49. Netflix and Chill Yes, Like That

Sometimes watching a movie together was just watching a movie together

Sometimes sitting next to someone on the couch was just sitting next to someone on the couch.

Sometimes having someone's arms around you was just having someone's arms around you.

Sometimes resting your head on someone's chest was just resting your head on someone's chest.

Things weren't always what they seemed….but sometimes they were. Sometimes things were exactly what they looked like and there was no need to go looking any deeper into them. Reigen certainly wasn't. So she was sitting on Serizawa's couch in his apartment and he was using her as a blanket and she was using him as a pillow? So freaking what? This was nothing. This was just them watching Netflix and chilling….not like that. Not like…well she wasn't even going to bring that up. No, it was still way too early to bring any of that up with him. She didn't want to scare him off, to ask too much, to make him do anything that he wasn't ready to do.

They had already done enough as it was.

They had done…well not much of anything in the grand scheme of things….but they had done enough. Enough for her to think…well a lot of things. She knew that he loved her and she knew that he loved him and she knew that she liked…well she had always been a physical being. She liked getting physical be it in her work, there was no way to give a nonphysical massage after all, and in her life…her romantic life. The life that she finally had…well she had for more than a couple of nights anyway….

His hand was on her waist. That should have been enough for her.

She sighed and buried her face in his chest. His shirt was soft, some kind of cotton blend, and she could hear his heartbeat. It was fast, maybe as fast as hers, or maybe even faster. She didn't know. She wasn't going to sit there and count the beats per minute. She didn't think that she could focus. She couldn't even focus on whatever movie was on the TV let alone the feel of his heartbeat under her head. He was just so….distracting…..

But in a good way.

In an impossibly good way. The way his heart beat, the way his chest rose and feel under her head, the way he smelled….just…all of it. She knew that she was acting like a kid. She was a grown woman. There she was sitting down cuddling with her boyfriend and all she could think about was his hand working it's way under her shirt…and it had, before, it had….and it could again….and she was too old to be sitting there thinking about making out with her boyfriend. She was an adult and adults….they communicated what they wanted…and it wasn't like she didn't know how communication worked…

They had been working on that.

They had been working on their communication skills and she knew that she liked…well she knew some of the things he liked…the things that they had already done…and that was not the problem. Introducing new things was the problem. Thinking about asking him to…well if she was going to completely lose herself in fantasy she would have imagined him picking her up and carrying her through that doorway…the one right next to the couch…and then throwing her down and doing things that, well, were R18+….she was such a kid right now.

She was going to go at his pace.

There was nothing wrong with his pace. There was nothing wrong with slow and steady. They had reached the making out portion of the relationship and they had been there for months and…well she didn't think that she could stay there for much longer…but she would have to. She would have to because…well she wasn't going to push him.

She didn't have to consult the cards to know that it wouldn't have ended well.

He hadn't done anything before. She was and had been, so far, all of his firsts. She had been his first girlfriend and his first kiss and the first woman he had ever seen topless and the first woman who he had ever felt up…a lot of firsts….and she knew that she couldn't push him. Firsts were big. Firsts were…well when you were young firsts were big…but he was so young when it came to all of this…and she wasn't going to push him too far too fast…

If he wanted to be with her…in that way….then he would have said something.

"Reigen? Reigen? Arataki?" asked Serizawa. He shook her a little. He wondered if she had fallen asleep. She was sighing and her eyes…well he couldn't see her eyes from this angle…and he didn't want to move. She might have been asleep…and he didn't want to wake her. She'd done a lot that day. It had been an endless parade of people coming in and out of the massage room and sitting at her desk asking for help from the cards….she was tired. She was tired and she wanted to sleep and…and he would let her sleep. He would let her sleep on him.

He had never slept with her before.

He could have turned the TV off and let himself drift off to sleep. He knew that he was tired too and…and he had never slept with her before…NOT LIKE THAT! He wasn't going to…to even bring that up. There was no way that he was just going to come out and ask her about that. He liked what they did already and…and he knew that she had done all of that before…and he hadn't but…well that was the thing of it….

He had no idea what he was doing.

He wished that there was some kind of…instruction manual…or something…for all of that. There were plenty of books to be read but those were so…clinical. Like reading a medical book or something…like instructions for building a model…or a game play through. Insert tab A into slot B and repeat as necessary. Step one, kiss her, step two, keep kissing her, step three…it was just so…schoolbook-y. The interest wasn't much better…and he may not have known much but he did know that he couldn't just go and do the things that he had seen in certain…adult….art…films. No, people did not do that and if he asked her to then she would probably have run away and started a new life somewhere else…or something….

Not that he was going to be asking her to do anything he had seen.

Not that he was going to ask anything of her. Even though…she was so warm on top of him and…and he had seen…well he had seen part of her and he had felt her skin and she had been so soft and warm and…and now he felt like he was talking about an electric blanket instead of a human being…and she was warm like an electric blanket…and also she was…well she was his living girlfriend and he cared about her and…and also…his hand was above her shirt. He knew that underneath this she had her silk undershirt and then her bra…and he'd been under all of those layers…but he couldn't just randomly reach under her clothes like that. No, that wouldn't have been right. He had to ask her. He had to use words to ask her and…

Well she might have been asleep…so maybe he shouldn't have even thought about any of that.

"Hmm? Katsuya? What is it?" asked Reigen. She opened her eyes and looked up. His hand left her waist. He could feel it against the small of her back. She wished that his hand went back to where it was…and she wished that…well she wished for a lot of things. She wished that she had been able to remember if she turned off the office lights before she left, if she had any more tofu in the fridge, that she had done something more with her hair instead of just putting it up, and that she had been watching this movie more closely because there was a retriever and she loved retrievers the most out of all dogs….

But mostly she just wished that he had been holding her again.

"I just wanted to see if you had been sleeping….sorry if I woke you!" said Serizawa

"You didn't wake me, I was just closing my eyes for a little bit." Said Reigen

"Oh….um…you can close your eyes again if you want…and you can fall asleep if you want to, too." Said Serizawa

"That would be pretty rude of me, falling asleep in the middle of our date." Said Reigen

"I-I wouldn't mind. You….you look….peaceful when you sleep….and I know that you had a busy day today." Said Serizawa

"I did…but I still don't want to fall asleep on you. I can't just fall asleep on you and leave you to watch on your own. That would be a pretty boring date, I think." Said Reigen

"I…I really wouldn't mind…if you went to sleep….on me…I mean." Said Serizawa

"Well I don't want to be the only one sleeping. You can sleep with me if you want to." Said Reigen. The minute the words left her mouth she wished that she could have just reached over and pulled them back in. She had just….how could she have just….SAID that? How could she have just come out and said all of that to him? She had just….what was wrong with her? She was tired and…and she wasn't thinking and…and maybe she had low blood sugar and…and well she was too keyed up for her own good….and just….

Where was the reset button?!

"I…..I…well…um…..I would…." Said Serizawa. That was…she had asked him and….well yes, of course he wanted to. Of course he wanted to be with her…like that. Of course he wanted to hold her and kiss her and…and take her to bed and…and do all of those things that came afterwards. He wanted to but…but he had no idea what those things were, fully, well he did but he didn't know how to do them and…

And he would have just ended up disappointing her.

He would have just ended up letting her down. He knew that if they went to his room like she wanted then…then he would have just…well he wouldn't have had the first clue what to do. He had no idea what she liked…or what he liked, even, when it came to all of that and all of the books had said that in order to make her feel good he needed to be able to know what made him feel good and…and he had no idea what he liked…in that context and…and he knew that she would have just…well she never would have laughed at him or told him that he was terrible but….

But she deserved someone who could make her feel good….she deserved a guy like that…but she had asked him of all people….

Well he was her boyfriend after all.

"I meant to sleep! Not…not….you know. It just came out wrong. I would never ask that you of." Said Reigen

"Oh…" said Serizawa. He looked away from her…not that he was mad…he understood. He knew why she wouldn't have wanted to…with him…and it felt like…like he had been kicked in the chest but…but he got it. She knew that he wouldn't have had the first clue about…about any of it and of course, since she'd been with people who knew what they had been doing, she wouldn't want to have to put up with him figuring it all out…and everything….

"Wait! That came out wrong too! I meant that…that I would never just…come out and ask you. I mean I wouldn't push you. I mean…I would plan it better….you know? Make it something special for you…you deserve it. I mean…you never forget the first time and…yeah. You deserve…you deserve a good one. Katsuya, believe me, you don't want to have a sucky first time." Said Reigen. She never wanted to see him like that again. She never wanted to see him looking so…down. His eyes had dropped down and he had just…turned away from her and…and she needed to get better at this. She had always been so good at talking, at communicating, but when it came to him her entire brain just turned to ramen broth…and not the good kind either.

"Yours…wasn't good?" asked Serizawa. That was….he didn't want to think about her being with someone else. He knew that she'd had a life before him and he knew that she had chosen him out of literally anyone else in the world….but he didn't want to think about her being with anyone else like that…and maybe that made him terribly jealous or…or maybe that was just something private that he wasn't supposed to want to know about…or something….

He didn't want to think about this anymore.

"Katsuya….you don't want to know about that." Said Reigen. Nope. He did not need to hear about how, when she had been fourteen, she had believed a bunch of lies from a guy and then did a lot of things that she hadn't been ready for with the promise that they'd be together forever…and then her heart had been shattered into a million pieces and…yeah. That was not a story that she liked to tell and that was not a story that her BOYFRIEND would have wanted to hear.

"I do….I mean…I don't want it to have been bad but…I mean if it's not something that you're comfortable talking about…or if something happened to you…" said Serizawa. The thought of some guy hurting her….well the thought of it made him want to do things that he knew would get him thrown in that esper prison he barely managed to avoid. He took a deep breath. He could see his aura. He needed to calm down….but how could he? If someone had hurt her…the woman that he loved….

Well they'd better have been VERY good at running away….

"No! No, nothing like that. I was just young and stupid, that's all. I was young and stupid and he was this cute guy from my class and…well I did a lot of things that I wasn't ready for…and I just…don't want to be that person to you. I don't want to push you into doing anything that you're not ready for." Said Reigen. She had never seen him like that….like he was getting ready to go out and kick someone's ass….for her. That was…she should not have been so happy that he was so willing to fight for her. First of all she could fight her own battles and second of all there wasn't even a battle to fight…and also violence was never the answer and all of that…but still….

It was…nice to know….that he would have been so willing to fight for her like that.

"Oh….I'm glad that….nothing bad happened to you…I mean-" said Serizawa

"I know what you meant…and…thank you. For caring so much about me, I mean. Nobody's ever cared as much about me as you do…and…I…I love you…for that." Said Reigen. The words were getting stuck in her throat and…and she had never had that happen to her…well not with anyone else but him and…and she just….she didn't mind.

The words may have gotten stuck but she still meant them.

"I love you too." Said Serizawa. The words came quickly. They came quickly and he wanted to take them back…but he also didn't. He could say that now. He could stay that now and she could…she had said it first and…and they were at that point in their relationship and…and he had never thought that he ever would have had this with anyone else before in his life…

And he loved it…what he had…what they had together.

"So…" said Reigen after a moment. A long moment. A moment that as way too long. She had to say something. There was too much silence, they needed words, and she had to keep the words there…the words coming there…because they needed words. They needed words before the silence overtook them and they were stuck with what she had said before…what she had said without even thinking.

"So…" said Serizawa

"Do you want to watch something else? Or I could get going or…whatever you want." Said Reigen

"We can do whatever you want to do." Said Serizawa

"We always do whatever I want to do. What do you want, Katsuya?" asked Reigen

"I want…to…can we kiss? I mean…really kiss and…can we….I mean I know that you wouldn't want to…with me…and I don't know what I'm even asking." Said Serizawa. What was he thinking? She wasn't going to say yes…and if she did then he didn't know what he would…this was a bad idea. He was just…he was just being a moron. She didn't want to…and if she did then what was he supposed to do? Write notes on his arm and diagrams and stuff? No. She was just going to be disappointed…and then she wouldn't want to be with him anymore and…and he had no idea what he would ever do without her.

"Asking? What are you….oh." said Reigen. He wanted…oh. Ok. She wanted…she could…she did. She wanted this and…and he wanted this…and they were adults. They were consenting adults consenting to do adult things…things that he had never done before…things that she would be the first person that he would ever do those things with and…and she could be that person. She had never been that person to anyone before but…but he wanted her to be that person…and if he wanted her to be that person to him then she would be that person to him…

She was his girlfriend after all.

"I…I mean I know that-" said Serizawa

"I wouldn't…mind. I mean I want to but…but you don't have to just because I can't think before I speak. I mean I know that it must be a lot for you…and I don't want it to be something that you end up…regretting." Said Reigen. She didn't know what she could do if he ended up regretting it…all of it…and then…and then it all got to be too much…too messy…they were so intertwined as it was and maybe it was stupid to try and make it…more than it was…but she also…she wanted that with him but…but she didn't what she would do if…

She didn't know what she would do without him.

"I…could never regret…anything that….that I did…will do…would have done…with you. I could never regret you…but I know that…that you'd regret me…since I…I have no idea what I'm….doing." said Serizawa

"What? I know it's your…I mean it would be…will be…your first time. I know that…and I wouldn't regret it. How could I ever regret anything with you? I love you." Said Reigen

"I love you too." Said Serizawa

"So…shall we?" asked Reigen

"...yes…I mean….if you want to…I mean…yes." said Serizawa

"After you." Said Reigen. She expected him to get up but…well he did. He got up but instead of walking over to his room, opening that door, and walking through to the next point in their relationship. She had been expecting that but she hadn't been expecting him to reach down, pick her up, and practically carry her over the threshold….

Not that she was complaining…and not that he was, either.

No, nobody was complaining that night…or the next morning.


End file.
